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Frances and Jane use their Camp Fire Girl training 



Camp Fire Girls Series 


The Gamp Fire Girls 
On A Yacht 







The Camp Fire Girls 

On A Yacht 

BY 

MARGARET LOVE SANDERSON 


Frontispiece by 
MAUDE MARTIN EVERS 



The Reilly & Lee Go. 
Chicago 



/ 

r 


Copyright, 1920 
by 

The Reilly & Lee Co. 
Made in U. S. A. 


opr 

Vj \J • 


-4 1920 


The Camp Fire Girls on a Yacht 


©CI.A576707 


CONTENTS 


Chapter 

I An Invitation for a Cruise .... 
II Sergeant Murphy Assists. .,. . . 

III The Boojum. 

IV Anchor Weighed. ... . 

V At the Landing of the Pilgrims 

VI Betty Wyndham, Actress. 

VII Exploring Gloucester 

VIII What Frances Found 

IX The Affairs of Breck 

X Hurricane Island 

XT Debate and Just Talk . 

XII Brother and Sister. 

XIII Jack 's After-Supper Speech 

XIV Tim's Father . .,. ... 

XV Tim's Mother and Details 

XVI A Mouth for Pie 

XVII “ Boiled” at 'Sconset. 

XVIII The Beginning of Tragedy 

XIX The Good of the III- Wind 


Page 
.. 7 
... 14 
.. 27 
. . 40 
.. 51 
.. 63 
.. 73 
. . 84 
. . 97 
. .110 
..122 
..132 
..141 


163 

174 

181 

188 

198 




The Camp Fire Girls 
On a Yacht 

CHAPTER I 

AN INVITATION TOR A CRUISE 

“ Oil! Jack, Ellen, come here this instant! ” 
cried J ane Pellew in so excited a manner that the 
mail rider almost fell out of his jumper in his 
effort to see what it was that made Miss Jane 
“ take on so.” She was dancing around the 
broad old veranda waving /me of the letters he 
had just handed her. 

“ Too hot, Sis, and we are too comfortable,” 
came Jack’s lazy voice from under the big ash 
tree that shaded one side of the porch. 

“ You have enough energy for all of us, so 
s’pose you come to us,” Ellen called. 

“ You won’t be hot for long, but you are going 
to be very uncomfortable in a minute.” With 
the warning, Jane jumped off the porch and 

landed in Ellen’s lap, then pulled herself up 

7 


8 


The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

quickly by means of one hand entwined in Jack’s 
thick chestnut hair. 

44 Shut up and listen! ” commanded Jane. 

44 Nobody has a chance to do anything else with 
you around,” Jack reminded his sister. 

44 Who could do anything else but listen after 
having a hundred and thirty pounds of buoyant 
young Kentucky girl hurled on top of you from a 
distance of some ten feet? I don’t believe I shall 
ever get my breath again,” groaned Ellen. 

44 I’ll say you manage pretty well without it,” 
Jane laughed. 44 But, as I was saying, listen and 
you will hear the most wonderful piece of news 
that has happened in the history of mankind,” and 
she started reading from the letter she had still 
managed to keep in her hand : 

44 Dearest Jane: ” 

4 4 Bet it is from one of the Camp Fire Girls,” 
interrupted her brother. 

44 Keep quiet, I have a good mind not to tell you 
after all. But I am such a nice girl I suppose I’ll 
have to. It’s from Mabel Wing. Now, let me 
finish,” pleaded Jane. 

44 Dearest Jane: 

44 As long as Ellen Birch is staying with you, 


An Invitation for a Cruise 


9 


read this to her, as I am so busy I’ll never 
have time to write two letters saying exactly 
the same thing. I am sending one to Ruth 
Gamier with the request that she read hers 
to Frances Bliss, who is staying at her home. 

“ And telegraph me whether you will or 
won’t, but please do. I always do things 
backwards even in letters. What I mean is 
Daddy is going to give me a cruise on his 
yacht and I want you and Ellen and Jack to 
come. We will leave City Island, N. Y., July 
the first, and go till we get bored, up to the 
Maine coast and poke around all those little 
islands that Daddy says grow in the New 
England waters. 

“ Don’t bring any clothes, as there never 
is any place to stow more than the bare essen- 
tials. And make Jack bring his banjo and, 
of course, your bathing suits and Camp Fire 
clothes. 

“ I’ll be so disappointed I’ll die if you 
don’t. Hastily, 

“ Mabel.” 

“ As if you couldn’t tell it was ‘ hastily, 
Mabel,’ ” Jack laughed. “ But I have no idea of 
bringing your bathing suits and Camp Fire 
regalia.” 

“ Goose! That is just the Mabel of it. She 


10 


The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

writes just as she talks,” explained his sister. 

4 4 What f nn for all of ns ! But we must tele- 
graph right away,” said the practical Ellen. 

44 Here comes Father now,” and Jane pointed 
to a red-wheeled buggy and a briskly trotting bay 
horse driven up the shady approach to the Pel- 
lews ? home by the master of the house. 

The three of them ran across to meet Mr. Pel- 
lew, a man beloved by his children’s friends as 
much as he was respected and loved by his own. 

4 4 Daddy dear, Mabel wants — ’ ’ began J ane. 

44 It will be wonderful! ” put in Ellen. 

44 Is it all right with you if I go too, Dad? ” 
Jack interrupted both girls. 

Mr. Pellew put his hands up to his ears and 
screamed above the hubbub: 44 How can I tell 
whether it will be wonderful for Ellen and all 
right for you or even what Mabel wants if the 
bunch of you try to rival the builders of the tower 
of Babel? ” 

44 Ellen,” suggested Jack, 44 you tell him; Jane 
gets too excited.” 

Ellen put one hand over Jane’s mouth and told 
Mr. Pellew of the interesting trip Mabel and her 
father had planned for them. 

Squirming away from Ellen, Jane flung her 


An Invitation for a Cruise 


11 


arms around lier father’s neck and said, “ But we 
don’t like leaving you when we have been home 
from school for only such a short while.” 

“ It never seems to enter your scatter-brained 
heads that I might oppose you in anything,” Mr. 
Pellew smiled at his daughter. 

“ You always are keen for us to have a good 
time,” Jack explained. 

‘ ‘ And you went and had such clever good chil- 
dren that they know just exactly what to do and 
what is good for them and what is bad for them,” 
added Jane. 

4 6 Of course you can go and I ’ll be mighty glad 
for my children to have such a wonderful sum- 
mer. When do you expect to leave and from what 
point! ” inquired Mr. Pellew. 

“ First of July, City Island! ” came in chorus 
from the three. 

“ Henceforth all my conversation will be nauti- 
cal. Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of two per cent substi- 
tute. Jack, do you have to have a horn or a pipe 
for stage property when you want to execute a 
briny jig! ” and Jane began to cavort around in 
what she considered a truly seafaring manner. 

4 ‘ ‘ Shiver my timbers ! ’ and < Scuttle her 
amidships! ’ is my contribution to this, but I am 


12 


The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

the only person to be allowed to use these choice 
phrases until some one can think up better ones. 
Then, of course, I’ll be glad to cash in my old 
ones for the new ones,” was Ellen’s generous 
offer. 

“ Son, you had better order some horses sad- 
dled directly after dinner so you kids can ride 
over and send the necessary telegrams,” said Mr. 
Pellew to Jack. 

With an “ Aye, aye, sir,” Jack raced toward 
the stable. 

‘ ‘ Home is so beautiful in the summer that I can 
hardly bear to leave it,” sighed Jane. 

She and her father and Ellen were walking over 
the close-cut grass and she cast a rather wistful 
eye around the lovely lawn that stretched before 
the Pellew house. There were great trees whose 
spreading branches had shaded her grandparents, 
her own father and the mother she couldn’t 
remember, but loved because of the sweet pic- 
tures her father had of her. Where the lawn 
stopped the rolling fields of blue grass began and 
Jane could see the old mare, on which she and 
Jack had learned to ride, grazing contentedly. It 
was a hobby of her father’s never to sell the old 
horses on the place but to treat them as worthy 


An Invitation for a Cruise 


13 


old pensioners and turn them out on the rich blue- 
grass pasture lands that bordered his place. Mr. 
Pellew had a string of race horses famous 
throughout Kentucky, and as Jane put it, she and 
Jack had “ fallen from the cradle into a saddle/’ 
Their father kept a model stable and Aunt Min, 
who took charge of the Pellew home, often com- 
plained that the expense of upkeep for the stable 
was far greater than that of their exceedingly well 
run home. 

“ Well, of course, I won’t force you to go,” 
teased her father. 

“ Why, Jane, I thought you were perfectly wild 
to go,” Ellen said. 

“ Oh, that is the way I always behave about 
leaving home. I am terribly sentimental over it 
and always indulge in dramatics when I go away. 
You see, I am bats about all the horses and dogs 
on the place and I can’t help thinking about Atta 
Boy, the Denmark colt Dad was letting me break 
for my own,” Jane explained. “ All the work I 
have put in on him will come to nothing if he isn ’t 
ridden regularly this summer, and Daddy doesn’t 
have time to do it for me and I wouldn’t trust 
anybody else with such a peach of a colt.” 

“ You honor me, daughter.” Mr. Pellew made 


14 


The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

a low mocking bow. “ To show my deep appre- 
ciation of the fact that you put my horsemanship 
on the level with your own, I suppose I will have 
to promise to ride Atta Boy every other day for 
you/’ 

‘ ‘ I love Kentucky too, Jane, and you can’t know 
how much it has meant to me to stay with you. 
Last summer it was too wonderful with the other 
girls here but this summer it has been just splen- 
did with you and Jack.” Ellen blushed after men- 
tioning Jack, because he had just been telling her 
what a wonderful summer it was for him with her 
visiting Jane. 

“ Ellen, did you ever hear this little tribute to 
our state? ” Mr. Pellew asked and began: 

“ Ever see Kentucky grass 
Or hear about its blueness ? 

Looks as if the whole denied earth 
Was bursting out in newness. 

Skies and folks alike all smiles. 

Gracious! you are lucky 
If you spend a day in June 
Down in old Kentucky.” 

“ And the more days you spend in Kentucky 
the luckier you are,” stated Jane. “ But good- 


An Invitation for a Cruise 


15 


ness, I sound like that girl from Virginia who was 
at Hillside last year.” 

Aunt Min came out on the porch and interrupted 
the eulogy on the charms of Kentucky by telling 
them that dinner was ready. But anyone seeing 
the great platter of fried chicken on the table 
before Aunt Min would have said that the eulogy 
might well have been continued in the spacious 
old dining room. 


t 


CHAPTER II 

SERGEANT MURPHY ASSISTS 

“ Jack! have you your banjo? And Ellen, have 
you the box of candy Daddy gave us? ” Jane 
called over her shoulder to the two who were sit- 
ting in the tonneau as they were driving over to 
the station to catch the train that was to take 
them to New York. 

“ You better keep your eyes on the road if you 
are to keep us in the road,” gently reproved Mr. 
Pellew from his seat beside his daughter. 

“ We’ve got everything we ought to have, but 
what have you remembered? Nothing for a 
change? ” teased Jack, for Jane was an almost 
proverbial forgetter. 

“ Anything important that you have forgotten 
I can parcel post to you after I come back from 
New York,” said Aunt Min, who was to go along 
to chaperon them at the hotel in New York. The 
girls had some shopping to do and were going up 
a few days prior to their final departure to accom- 
plish it. ' 


16 


Sergeant Murphy Assists 17 

“ Aunt Min, you are a perfect peach, and I am 
so glad you finally joined the Camp Fire Girls.” 
Ellen reached over and patted affectionately the 
hand of the woman once disliked by the entire 
band of Jane’s friends and now the pet of all of 
them. 

As the car, piloted by Jane, whirled up to the 
station, a rather fat young man was seen dashing 
frantically around, talking first to the station 
agent and then to the baggage man, all the time 
violently mopping his face with a huge white 
handkerchief. 

“ There’s Charlie Preston in a stew as usual,” 
giggled Jane, pointing to the distraught young- 
man, w t 1io was Mabel’s fiance. 

Suddenly Charlie stopped his gyrations and his 
face broke into a really charming smile. 

“ I was trying to find out from some of these 
misguided officials if you all had made arrange- 
ments to go on this train, for if you weren’t, I 
wasn’t either, but not one word could I get out 
of them but a polite 4 Speak to you after the train 
leaves,’ and, saving your presence, Miss Min, how 
the deuce would that help me? ” Charlie exploded 
to his friends. He was a. strange mixture of calm- 
ness in times of stress and great irritability and 


IS 


The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

excitability in times of petty trials. 

“ All aboa’d! ” cried the white- jacketed and 
very black porter. 

“Oh! Daddy, good-bye, good-bye, I am going 
to miss you all the time, no matter how much fun 
I am having,” and Jane ruffled Mr. Pellew’s collar 
in the last of a series of bear hugs that had begun 
the night before. 

“ Don’t make such rash promises but write me 
occasionally, and Jack, you telegraph me as soon 
as you get to New York. I hope the rooms I wired 
for will be all right. And now I am going because 
I won’t feel so alone if I leave before the train 
pulls out,” he said and drove off with a great 
show of bravery. 

At last they were settled comfortably for the 
long trip to New York, Aunt Min with a magazine 
and the young people planning good times for the 
few days they were to be in the city before going 
aboard the yacht. 

“ We can go to see Emmeline Cerrito. Jack, 
you know she is our beautiful French friend who 
is studying for grand opera. She hopes to make 
her appearance this fall. Maybe she will sing for 
us. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a lovelier voice; 
have you, Jane? ” Ellen loved music. 


Sergeant Murphy Assists 19 

And Sarah Manning is in training at the 
Presbyterian Hospital; we will certainly look her 
up and get her to come to dinner if she can get 
any time off,” suggested Jane. 

44 I want to get something for the ship’s 
library,” said Charlie, 44 and I think Carroll’s 
4 Hunting of the Snark ’ would be in order. It will 
help to comfort me during the first three or four 
days out. You know I’m nobody’s able seaman. 
My last year at college a bunch of us raced a 
yacht down to Bermuda and I want to say that, 
for three days, I wasn ’t anything but in the way. ’ ’ 
And poor Charlie winced at the unhappy memory. 

44 But that was one of those narrow little rac- 
ing types,” soothed Ellen, 44 and Mabel says her 
father’s is a regular cruising boat and awfully 
comfortable.” 

44 Anyway, my beamish boy, I’ll stick by you 
and play 4 Heave-ho, my hearties ’ on the trusty 
banjo while you lean o’er the rail,” Jack grinned. 

44 You boys are rather horrid,” said Aunt Min 
from behind her magazine. 44 And, by the war, 

I expect to be taken to the theatre every night, so 
don’t make too many plans.” 

44 Tickled to death to take you to any musictl 
comedy you pick and to any roof garden after- 


20 The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

wards,” said Jack. 44 You know, nothing really 
good runs in New York in the summer months.” 

44 And I suspect that you are not at all sorry,” 
teased Aunt Min. 

4 4 Speaking of plays, that reminds me that Betty 
Wyndham is at Provincetown with the Province- 
town Players for the summer getting ready for 
next winter. She got them to take her on this 
spring. I know we will go to Plymouth and if we 
are that near we just can’t help going to see 
Betty,” said Ellen, planning happily. 

44 So we will really see all of our friends by 
hook or crook during the summer.” Then Jane 
yawned and announced that she was going to crawl 
hito her berth and go to sleep. 

When New York was finally reached, it took two 
taxis to deposit the travelers at their hotel. There 
toe little party separated, Aunt Min going to her 
room to rest, the boys going out to 44 see the 
own,” and Ellen and Jane going to do their shop- 
ping. 

I love the way the New Yorkers hurry along 
dl so intent on where they are going and so eer- 
ain they are going to get there in the end,” said 
Mien. Neither one of us has a really working 
knowledge of the city so, no doubt, we will be lost 


Sergeant Murphy Assists 21 

one million times on the way to Abercrombie & 
Fitch ’s.” 

4 4 Then we will just ask some genial Irish cop, ’ ’ 
said Jane lightly. 44 I have never paid any atten- 
tion to the ridiculous warnings of people who say, 
4 Never talk to somebody you aren’t certain of.’ 
I flatter myself that I can tell at a glance whether 
a person is the kind of person to talk to or not.” 

Deep in an argument in which Ellen favored 
getting gray flannel sport shirts and Jane khaki 
ones, the two girls got on the subway. 

44 We have been on here ten minutes, surely we 
will be there soon,” said Ellen glancing at her 
watch. 

44 So we would,” giggled the irrepressible Jane, 
4 4 if we were going the right way. I noticed just 
now that we were on a car marked Bronx when 
we ought to be on a downtown express. I was 
going to give you to the next stop to notice it; 
after that of course I would have told you.” 

44 Next time we better not talk so much,” ob- 
served Ellen wisely as the girls rose to leave the 
car. 

44 Whew! I would like to come up for air. It’s 
so stuffy down here I can’t think which way we 
ought to go. If we just had some working hypotli- 


22 The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

esis of where we are, then we might dope out 
some route to take,” lamented Jane. 

Both girls looked round them with rather 
amused expressions. Finally, Ellen squealed and 
punched Jane. 44 There’s your genial Irish cop; 
go over and ask him how we must get to Aber- 
crombie & Fitch ’s. ’ ’ 

Jane marched over to the big fat policeman, 
plainly from Erin. He grinned invitingly at the 
world in general and, as she stopped in front of 
him, at her in particular. 

44 Yes, Mum,” he said. 

44 We took that horrid old Bronx subway and 
we didn’t mean to,” began Jane by way of lucid 
explanation. 

44 And not the first are ye, young lady, to do 
the same. Indade, it looks to me like folks only 
get to the Bronx by tr.yin’ to go some other place,” 
the big man announced. 

Then Jane told him where they did want to go. 

44 I’m off duty now and it’s go in’ that way I am 
myself, so if it pleases ye I’ll just take ye,” said 
Sergeant Murphy. 

Ellen had come up to them and was very pro- 
fuse in her thanks, but the Sergeant brushed them 
aside with a hearty 44 ’Tis nothin’.” 


23 


Sergeant Murphy Assists 

The two girls seated on either side of the big* 
Irishman kept him grinning with their amusing 
chatter about nothing. The three of them were 
entirely oblivious of the utter unconventionality 
of the situation and would have been much sur- 
prised if they had heard the old women across the 
aisle whispering to one another. 

It is certain that Ellen would have been very 
indignant if she had known that the young Rus- 
sian on her left had kept his hand in his pocket 
all the way, so firm was the belief in his mind that 
she was a pickpocket. 

Surprise showed through even the suave man- 
ner of the young salesman at Abercrombie & 
Fitch’s, but Ellen thought that it was brought 
forth by the fact that two girls wanted such a sur- 
prising number of men’s shirts. 

As twilight came and with it no Ellen and Jane, 
Aunt Min began to get worried and called the boys 
in consultation. They decided to wait until time 
to go down for dinner and, if the girls hadn’t come 
in then, to notify the authorities so they might 
organize a search for them. 

Aunt Min stood wringing her hands and moan- 
ing: 44 Such terrible things could happen to 
them. Charlie, don’t vou remember that awful 

7 


24 The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

Chinaman that killed a girl in New York and put 
her in a trunk where they didn ’t find her for ages 
and ages afterwards? ” 

44 Ellen is so little. Oh! why didn’t I go with 
them? ” and Jack cursed himself roundly for not 
taking care of the girl with whom he was in love. 

Charlie was seated in a lounging chair taking 
the whole affair quite calmly. 44 Jack, please 
behave as though you had some sense. Those girls 
are about twenty years old, both of them with the 
average amount of intelligence, plenty of money 
in their pockets, and both on the outside of a 
good lunch. So they won’t starve to death and, 
if they are lost, they can grab a taxi and come to 
the hotel. I’m willing to bet on Plain Jane’s 
ingenuity to get ’em home even if they are both 
dead and in some Chinaman’s laundry bag. Prob- 
ably what really happened is that they met some 
one they know and went some place for tea,” and 
Charlie went on peacefully eating chocolate 
creams. 

4 4 Oh ! it is all very well for you to talk, but just 
suppose it was Mabel Wing who was lost and not 
Ellen. How about it then? ” Jack asked. 

44 Mabel is too big to lose, so that is one thing 
I don’t have to worry about,” answered Charlie. 


Sergeant Murphy Assists 25 

‘ ‘ Anyway, let ’s go down in the lobby and 
w r ait,” said Aunt Min and led the way. 

Once there they took seats facing the entrance 
and glued their eyes to the door. Consequently, 
when the girls came in flanking a big policeman, 
Aunt Min, Jack, and Charlie rose simultaneously 
and advanced upon them. 

Aunt Min cried: “ Thank heavens, Charlie 
Preston knows law! Jane Pellew, what have you 
done now? ” 

Jack beside himself was squeezing Ellen’s hand 
and saying: “ Ellen, I am so glad they didn’t 
take you to jail first. I just know Charlie and I 
can fix it up with the cop.” 

Charlie looked at them in a ruminating manner 
and murmured: “ Too happy-looking for any- 
thing to be really the matter. Wish they’d come 
on and go in to dinner. ’ ’ 

“ You are perfectly ridiculous, all of you. 
Aren’t they, Sergeant Murphy? ” and Jane re- 
ceived an understanding wink from that son of 
the Emerald Isle. 

“ It was this way,” began Ellen and told of 
how the big policeman had taken them from shop 
to shop, and piloted them around all afternoon. 

“ So when we finished shopping,” broke in 


26 


The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

Jane, “ I suggested that all of us go to a movie.” 

‘ ‘ And a fine picture it was, Mum,” said Ser- 
geant Murphy to Aunt Min, “ with that Fairbanks 
lad abusting things wide open with every foot of 
reel.” 

Jane turned to Sergeant Murphy and shaking 
his hand said: “ Ellen and I want to thank you 
for your kindness and also for giving us such a 
lovely afternoon.” 

“ ’Tis nothin’,” said Sergeant 
“ ’Twas myself that had all the fun.” 


Murphy. 


CHAPTER III 


THE BOOJUM 

The first of July was a day so perfect that it 
might well have been made to order. The brilliant 
blue sky held little wisps of clouds that were 
scattered by a steady, gentle wind. 

“ That taxi will never come and I just can’t 
wait another instant. It should have been here 
long ago. I just know we’ll be late,” and Jane 
bobbed up from her chair and rushed to the win* 
dow at the sound of every car that passed. 

Mr. Wing had called them up the night before 
and asked them all to be out at City Island by ten 
o’clock. He planned to have lunch and be on the 
way by one. 

44 Patience, my dear sister, is like — well, 
something or other — I can ’t remember just what, 
but it is a good old saying,” Jack flung over his 
shoulder as he went to answer the knock of the 
boy who had come to tell them that their taxi was 
waiting. 

Mabel and Mr. Wing met them and took them 

27 


28 The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

down to the foot of one of the many little wharves 
that jutted out in the harbor. 

“ Frances is already on board. There wasn’t 
room in the tender for all of us,” Mabel explained. 
“ Oh! I am so happy I can hardly stand it. It 
almost killed me when Euth couldn’t come. You 
know she is taking some sort of social service 
course this summer and didn’t feel that she ought 
to stop right in the middle of it.” 

“ Yes, it must have been a disappointment,” 
agreed Ellen. “ But maybe this will cheer you 
up some. I had a telegram from Anne Follet this 
morning saying that she and Ruth would try to be 
in New York for a few days when we get back.” 

“ Splendid, marvelous! ” bubbled Mabel, who 
was hard to depress for long. 

“ Miss Pellew,” suggested Mr. Wing, “ you 
come out and have lunch with us and I’ll have 
one of the men set you ashore directly after. I’d 
like to have you see the boat.” 

“ You are very kind, indeed,” said Aunt Min, 
rather hurriedly. ” But couldn’t you point out 
your boat to me from here? ” 

“ What, you aren’t afraid, are you? ” Mr. 
Wing laughed that delightful laugh that so often 
accompanies fatness. 


I 


29 


The Boojum 

“ Yes, I am,” admitted Aunt Min. “ But don’t 
tell the girls or I’ll never hear the end of it.” 

s. 

Mr. Wing pointed to a two-master, with a black 
hull. “ She is the schooner type and was built 
by a shipbuilder at Gloucester, so she is as sturdy 
as a Gloucester fisherman, but her yachty lines 
give her more speed. She’s got a big Lathrop 
engine in her that can kick her along at ten knots 
when our wind goes dead on her. She has been 
almost everywhere and is perfectly able to go any- 
where she hasn’t been.” 

It was perfectly plain to Aunt Min that boats 
and water were Mr. Wing’s hobby even though 
she hadn’t understood half of what he had said, 
particularly about kicking her along. What was 
the object in kicking her along if there was an 
engine ? 

“ None of this fancy yachting for me,” went 
on the black yacht’s owner. “I’m my own sailing- 
master because half the fun of yachting to me is 
the work it entails. Why, I love the feel of the 
old 4 Boojum ’ as she answers to wheel ! And let 
me tell you she handles quick. She is alive, every 
inch of her.” 

“ Well, I hope there are plenty of life preserv- 
ers in convenient places. Thank heavens, all the 


30 


The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

girls can swim well! ” Aunt Min looked rather 
dubiously at the “ Boojum ” and at its owner. 

Somehow the black hull upset her. It smacked 
of the piratical and she had visions of drawn cut- 
lasses and bearded men with their heads wrapped 
up in red rags. It would have been better, she 
thought, if the boat had been white, as she imag- 
ined all yachts were. 

“ My dear Miss Pellew, it is safe as safe can 
be and dry as a bone. It takes days to get a drop 
in her bilges,” Mr. Wing hastened to assure her. 

“ What in the world could be the advantage of 
it taking days to get a drop in the bilges, and what 
did bilges have to do with life preservers, and 
what were bilges anyway? ” thought Aunt Min. 
But she only said, “ Well, that is very nice, I am 
sure. ’ ’ 

Mabel had been explaining to her young guests 
that Mr. Wing was taking the boat out a little 
short-handed because he wanted all of them to 
learn something about sailing. “ Dadd} r says it 
is exactly twice as much fun if every man on board 
has some little work to do. I adore steering by a 
point of land, but I just can’t bear to do it by the 
compass.” 

“ Much as I hate to tell Aunt Min good-bye, I 


The Boojum 31 

wish we would shove off. I am wild to see it on the 
inside.” Jane’s black eyes snapped at the pros- 
pect. 

Soon the young people were seated in the danc- 
ing tender and, with many good-byes to Aunt Min, 
they scooted through the sparkling stretch of 
water that lay between them and the “ Boojum.” 

‘ ‘ Mabel, how in the world do you ever get over 
the side and up on deck? ” asked Ellen uneasily. 

“ She is falling off a lot, I think,” defended 
Charlie. 

“ Goose, I didn’t mean that. I mean, how does 
anybody do it? ” 

“ You see there is a little ladder that they hook 
on the side whenever people want to get off or on 
and when it isn’t being used, it is kept on deck,” 
Mabel explained. 

Two men in spotless blue denim work suits 
appeared on the deck as Mabel finished speaking 
and lowered the sea ladder over the side of the 
“ Boojum.” 

“ Jane, you go first,” whispered Ellen. 

“ The water is perfectly flat today, but there 
will be days when it won’t be, so you might just 
as well begin by being careful,” explained Mr. 
Wing. “ Step in the middle of the boat, grab hold 


32 


The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

of the sides of the ladder and step up as lightly 
as you can because, if you give much of a spring 
from the tender, it is liable to push us away from 
the ‘ Boojum’.” 

“It is nice to know that I have you in my 
power,’ ’ Jane laughed. 

However, Jane did not take advantage of her 
new found power but made an impressive em- 
barkation on the “ Boojum.” Her sureness and 
quickness won a gleam of approbation from the 
keen gray eyes of the bronzed young sailor, who 
had offered her a hand, which she smilingly 
refused. 

“ Pretty good for a land-lubber, Jane,” ap- 
plauded Mr. Wing. “ Now, Ellen, see if you can 
do as well.” 

” Ellen, you are so light, you couldn’t push us 
away to save your soul,” said Jack rather proudly. 

” And I just bounce up from long practice,” 
giggled Mabel. 

With all of them safe on deck, Mr. Wing gave 
a few orders to the two men, telling the short 
Dutchman to serve lunch as soon as it was ready 
and the young sailor to haul the tender up in the 
davits. “ And Jack, you better help Breck. Sorry 
to put you to work so soon.” 


The Boojum 


33 


Mr. Wing led the way down the companion into 
the saloon. “ I hope Mabel can make you fairly 
comfortable, girls. You will feel a bit cramped 
at first, but most people soon accustom themselves 
to it. She is very compact and it really is just a 
matter of adjusting yourself to a smaller scale. 
Now I must go above and see that we get under 
way. Charlie, Mabel tells me you have been cruis- 
ing before and I’m going to depend a lot on you. 
As soon as you stow your duds, come up and help 
Breck and me with the sails.” 

“ I’m a peach of a crew, I’ll admit,” and Char- 
lie chanted: 

“ The crew was complete; it included a Boots — 
A maker of Bonnets and Hoods — 

A Barrister, brought to arrange their dis- 
putes — 

And a Broker, to value their goods. 

A Billiard-marker whose skill was immense, 
Might perhaps have won more than his share — 
But a Banker, engaged at enormous expense, 
Had the whole of their cash in his care. 

There was also a Beaver, that paced on the deck, 
Or would sit making lace in the bow : 


34 


The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

And had often — the Bellman said — saved 
them from wreck, 

Though none of the sailors knew how. ’ ’ 

“ What delicious nonsense! What is it? ” 
queried Ellen. 

“ Mabel, you explain, I’ve got to go, for the 
i Boojum’s ’ piped all hands on deck,” and Char- 
lie scrambled up the companion. 

“ Your education has been neglected, if you 
don’t know Lewis Carroll’s ‘ Hunting of the 
Snark.’ Why, you do, don’t you, Plain Jane? ” 
demanded Mabel. 

“ Brought up on it,” answered Jane. “ Must 
I prove it? ” 

“ I engage with the Snark every night after 
dark — 

In a dreamy delirious fight : 

I serve it with greens in those shadowy scenes, 
And I use it for striking a light.” 

Suddenly the brown curtains before one of the 
bunks that were on each side of the saloon were 
Hung aside, and Frances Bliss poked out a tousled 
head and started, 

“ But it knows any friend it has met once before; 


35 


The Boojum 

It never will look at a bribe ; 

And in charity meetings it stands at the door 

And collects — though it does not subscribe. * ’ 

44 Plain Jane and Ellen, I am just as glad to see 
you as though you hadn’t waked me up. Come, 
salute me. ’ ’ 

Both girls made a dash for their disheveled 
friend. 

44 Well, get out of Daddy’s bunk and tell Ellen 
the tragedy of the Snark while I take Jane into 
your little stateroom and show her where she can 
scrouge in her clothes,” commanded Mabel. 

Frances crawled out of the bunk and began, 
44 Well, my poor little ignorant friend, it is this 
way : The Snark was a fabulous creature of great 
value, so great in fact that a band of worthy gen- 
tlemen set out to catch it. This band was headed 
by the noble Bellman who was much respected by 
the others. One of these gentlemen 'was a Baker 
and was unfortunate enough to vanish in thin air 
after the Snark was caught, because it proved to 
be a Boojum. Now it is all nice and clear, isn’t 
it, my priceless child! ” 

44 About as clear as mud,” laughed Ellen . 44 I’ll 
get a copy and read it so I’ll know what you 
lunatics are talking about. Anyway, I’m glad I 


36 The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

know where Mr. Wing got that ridiculous name 
for this lovely boat.’’ 

Mabel had taken Jane into a tiny stateroom 
with two narrow little bunks, one over the other. 

“ The lockers are under the lower bunk and you 
can put your rough clothes in there. Bring your 
suit and hat into my cabin and I will put them in 
my closet. Ellen and I are in the 4 Skipper’s 
cabin. ’ It has a double bunk that folds up against 
the side of the cabin and has the only full length 
closet in the * Boojum.’ Consequently, the whole 
bunch will have to keep their good clothes in it,” 
said Mabel. “ And now, if you and Ellen are 
ready, let’s go up on deck and maybe we can pick 
up some dope on how to put up the sails.” 

The four girls ran up the companion, the two 
newcomers giving their heads a terrific bump on 
the main boom. 

“ Mabel, you horrible creature, why didn’t you 
tell us to duck! ” wailed Jane, holding her throb- 
bing head. 

“ No use,” answered Mabel in cruel tones. 
“ Daddy says that everybody has to butt their 
heads a certain number of times on the main boom 
of a yacht and the sooner they begin, the sooner 


37 


The Boojum 

it is over. ’ ’ Then relenting a bit, she added, 44 I’ll 
warn yon to this extent; whenever we are at 
anchor and whenever the sails are down, that is 
just where the boom is going to be. ’ ’ 

The girls were standing in the cockpit, looking 
with admiration at the immaculate deck gleaming 
in the July sun, and the shining brass work. 44 Oh ! 
just imagine keeping a house as clean as this. It 
would keep you working every minute,’ ’ said 
Ellen. 

Mr. Wing let go the rope he was coiling and 
turned a beaming countenance on the girls. 44 I ’ve 
got a splendid idea,” he said. 44 You girls can 
take entire charge of the metal work on the good 
ship 4 Boojum ’ and, if I see a single dull place on 
it, I’ll put half of you in irons and the rest of you 
on hard tack and water.” 

44 There are no irons on board but flat irons, 
girls,” Mabel wriggled an unbelievable length of 
pink tongue at her father , 4 4 so don’t let him scare 
you. ’ ’ 

44 Well, anyway I can see by your feet that you 
are very wise children,” said Mr. Wing as he went 
forward to see what Jack had done with the rope 
he had been left to coil. 


38 


The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

u What in the world does he mean, Mabel? ” 
giggled Frances. ‘ ‘ Your father is the funniest 
man! ” 

1 1 He means that we have all got on tennis shoes 
and that endears you to the heart of any yachts- 
man, for it is so easy on the decks. Some yacht 
owners keep an extra supply of them on hand so 
that anybody without them can be supplied,” 
explained Mabel. 

The good-looking young sailor whom Mr. Wing 
had called Breck came aft to the girls and, touch- 
ing the white cap that covered a very small part 
of his crisp black hair, said to Mabel, “ Miss Wing, 
the steward says that lunch is ready in the 
saloon.” 

“ Ah, the low pleasures of the table! ” said 
Mabel with a great show of licking her chops, then 
called to the men working up forward, “ Hey, 
you kids, we are going to lunch and it will be all 
gone in about two seconds because the lady crew 
is hungry as sharks and is not going to wait for 
you.” 

“ You don’t have to,” and, with surprising 
lightness, fat Charlie Preston jumped down the 
galley hatch, ignoring the ladder and had his feet 


The Boojum 39 

under the table before the others had time to shut 
the mouths that had opened in surprise as he 
disappeared below. 


CHAPTER IV 


ANCHOR WEIGHED 

Mr. Wing rose from the little table that had 
been spread in the saloon and said, “ We’ll break 
the anchor out with the jib as soon as Breck has 
eaten. I hate this old engine like poison, though 
she’s a good old girl in case of emergency. But 
I have made it a rule not to use her unless it is 
really necessary.” 

“ What in the world is a jib? ” queried Frances 
with a puzzled expression. “ I thought it was some 
part of your face because my small brother used 
to say ‘ If you don’t shut up, Sis, I’ll bust you one 
in the jib.’ ” 

“ In this case, it is the sail that is fastened on 
the bowsprit. There are a lot of things to learn 
on a boat, but don’t give up because, before the 
cruise is over, you girls are going to be able to 
sail the ship by yourselves and we men can take 
it easy; isn’t that right, Jack? ” and Mr. Wing 
went up on deck to uncover the wheel. 

Mabel advised, her friends to stay below until 

-10 




Anchor Weighed 


41 


the “ Boojum ” was well under way. There was 
always a great deal of excitement on deck when- 
ever they left a harbor and it might be just as well 
for all concerned if they kept out of the way until 
they got the hang of things nautical. 

Ellen boiTowed “ The Hunting of the Snark ” 
from Charlie and announced that she was going to 
curl up on the transom in the saloon and become 
familiar enough with it by supper to beat the 
others at their own game. 

“ She starts, she moves, she seems to feel 
The thrill of life along her keel,” 
sang Frances, “ and I’ve just simply got to go 
up on deck and see what it looks like when we are 
going. Is it all right for me to go up now, 
Mabel? ” 

Just then Mr. Wing and Jack settled the ques- 
tion by sticking their heads down the hatch and 
demanding the presence of the girls on deck. 
Charlie was at the wheel and Breck was mopping 

up the slime that the anchor chain had made 

\ 

on deck. 

“ Mabel, will you take the wheel? 99 asked Char- 
lie in coaxing tones. “ I want to catch a smoke 
and it’s against the rules for the man at the 
wheel to smoke.” 


42 The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

“ Give that buoy a good berth, daughter,” 
advised her father. 

Mabel smiled her assent, for she knew the little 
harbor as well as her father, and though she had 
piloted the ‘ ‘ Boojum ’ ’ out some dozen times she 
always got exactly the same warning about the 
bobbing red buoy. 

The ‘ ‘ Boojum ’ ’ slipped gracefully through the 
water, with all her sails pulling. Smaller sail 
boats crossed her bow and their occupants gaily 
waved handkerchiefs and hands to the little group 
on the “ Boojum.” 

Jack’s lazy length was stretched on a striped 
deck mattress, while Ellen, seated near him on a 
cushion, watched him with thoughtful and admir- 
ing eyes, for in Frances’ breezy western slang, 
Jack was “ easy to look at.” Charlie talked to 
his fiancee and Mr. Wing pored over a chart, 
mapping out a course from New London to New- 
port. Jane and Frances, the two irrepressibles, 
unhampered by being in love, had elected to sit as 
far out on the bow as they could without actually 
straddling the bowsprit. They liked the sting of 
the salt spray on their faces. Frances pointed to 
where Mr. Wing was reading the chart and then 
she and Jane began in chorus: 


Anchor Weighed 43 

“ He had brought a large map representing the 
sea 

Without the least vestige of land ; 

And the crew were much pleased when they 
found it to be 

A map they could all understand. ’ ’ 

Mr. Wing laughed and, not to be outdone, went 
on with the ridiculous tale: 

4 4 ‘ What’s the good of Mercator’s North Poles 
and Equators, 

Tropics, Zones, and Meridian Lines? ’ 

So the Bellman would cry: and the crew 
would reply : 

4 They are merely conventional signs.’ ” 

But Mabel interrupted him : 

“ ‘ Other maps are such shapes, with their islands 
and capes ! 

But we’ve got our brave Captain to thank.’ 

So the crew would protest — i that he’s bought 
us the best — 

A perfect and absolute blank! ’ 

“ And now Daddy you come on and take your 
wheel because here comes a tug and it has three 
tows. It always scares me to death to meet one 


44 


The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

of those old tugs,” Mabel explained to Jane and 
Frances as she flopped down beside them. “ They 
are absolutely unscrupulous — just like road 
hogs — always running into yachts on the sound. 
Whew! it’s good to see you kids again. Wouldn’t 
it he terrible if there would ever he a summer 
when some of us wouldn’t see each other? ” she 
paused solemnly. 

“ You talk exactly as though you weren’t going 
to many your fat Charlie in November,” teased 
Frances. “ You will live in Lexington near Jane 
and that won’t be so bad, but how about me away 
out on the ranch! And it looks as if, in the course 
of time, that Ellen will come and live reasonably 
near Jane, too.” 

“ Well, my good spinster friend, Frances,” 
laughed Jane, “ I reckon that as long as we are in 
the same boat we will have to start a tea-room or 
a poultry farm or some other stupid thing that 
unloved old maids do. Oh! the tragedy of being 
an old maid at twenty, and the pain made more 
terrible by the fact that we see the happiness of 
our friends so plainly.” 

“ And it will be ever thus, Plain Jane, for where 
could we ever find a man worthy of our splendid 
selves? ” asked Frances. “ They all fall for me, 


Anchor Weighed 


45 


of course, but I can’t give them any encourage- 
ment, knowing my own value as I do.” 

44 If w T e get to Lloyd’s Harbor in time for a 
swim to-night, I am going to duck you both,” 
threatened Mabel, who was a veritable fish. 4 4 In 
the meantime, I’ll just get Charlie to make a cat 
o’ nine tails for me. Poor child, he will need the 
protection as much I do.” 

44 Who needs protection? ” asked Charlie, who 
had come forward to sheet in the staysail. 

44 You,” Frances promptly replied, getting a 
sharp dig from Mabel’s elbow in reward for her 
truthfulness. 44 Wow! Mabel, I thought you were 
too well cushioned to hurt. ’ y 

44 Push their noses in, Mabel,” advised Charlie, 

« 

44 and when you have finished, bring Jack and 
Ellen down to earth and tell them to go below and 
put on their bathing suits. Lloyd’s Harbor is just 
around that point and we mil make it in about 
fifteen minutes. Soon as we drop anchor, we all 
want to go over the side. This harbor is a dandy 
place to swim.” 

The girls dashed below, scrambled into their 
suits and returned to their place forward to find 
that the 44 Boojum ” was nosing its way into one 
of the loveliest little harbors on the eastern coast. 


46 The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

One side of the mouth of the harbor was marked 
by a high bit of wooded land that sloped gently 
down to the curved sandy beach. 

“ The wonderful smell that is in the air,” 
Ellen whispered to Jack. “ I imagine lotus flowers 
are like that. The land where it is always after- 
noon. Why, I could stay here forever and ever.” 

“ And I would have to be with you, for lotus- 
eaters forget all the past and dream and dream 
away their lives, and I don’t want to be forgotten 
for one little minute. ’ ’ 

“ I wouldn’t worry about that, Jack. I couldn’t 
forget you for an instant, not if I ate lotus for 
years and years. ’ ’ 

“ Hey, you Jack, stop talking sweet nothings. 
Mr. Wing has called you three times to see that 
the anchor is ready to heave over,” and Jane gave 
her brother a shove in the direction of the anchor. 

“ For heaven’s sake, Jane, I wish vou w^ould 
look at Breck! What on earth can he be doing? ” 
Frances pointed to where Breck w T as leaning over 
the hand-rail earnestly spitting, with Mr. Wing 
eagerly watching. 

“ Mr. Wing,” called Jane, “ is there anything 
I can do for Breck? Lemon is awfully good for 
seasickness, Aunt Min says.” 


Anchor V/eighed 47 

Mr. Wing’s fat face turned purple with the 
effort not to laugh and Breck finally chuckled. 

“ Ridiculous, Jane,” said the “ Boojum’s ” 
owner, “ that is the sailor’s best method of tell- 
ing whether a ship has lost her way or not. You 
see, you don’t want to drop anchor while the ship 
is still moving, and if you spit over the side you 
can tell easily how fast you are going.” 

4 4 Well, no wonder I didn’t understand! Who 
would? ” demanded Jane. 

4 4 It was a perfectly natural mistake, Miss 
Pellew,” said Breck. 

“ Jane, as a Camp Fire Girl, you should 
thoroughly approve of the infinite resources of 
nature,” teased Frances. 

“I do think it is an awfully good idea, but, 
didn’t it look funny? ” agreed Jane. 

“ Breck, you better let out a little more chain,” 
ordered Mr. Wing. “ And Jane, I’m going to show 
you and Frances how to let down the dinghy from 
the davits, so you girls can be independent of 
Charlie and Jack. There is not much chance of 
getting those two to do anything for any girls 
except Mabel and Ellen and there might be a time 
when you would want to take the boat when Breck 
and I were ashore.” 


48 The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

Frances and Jane lowered away at the ropes, 
taking care, in accordance with Mr. Wing’s advice, 
to let the stern hit the water before the bow so as 
not to ship any water. 

“ Watch me, Plain Jane, and profit by my cour- 
age,” cried Frances, grabbing a rope and sliding 
down it into the water. 

4 4 Rather get my head in first,” said Jane; and 
her body shot out from the hand-rail, describing 
an arc before she sank into the water, leaving 
barely a ripple. 

“ Great stuff, you kids, but I am too fat and 
have to wend my middle-aged way down the sea- 
ladder,” and Mr. Wing did it. 

Soon all of them were in, Frances, Mabel and 
Jane, romping around like young seals, Mabel 
pursuing the other two, round and round the 
“ Boojum ” in her efforts to duck the two teasers. 

“ It’s terrible just to be able to do this silly 
little side stroke,” wailed Ellen to Mr. Wing and 
Jack, “ when all the other girls swim the trudgeon, 
double overarm and Australian crawl just like 
professionals.” 

“ Come on, Jack, let’s teach her,” said the 
father of one of the envied ducks. 

The two men started teaching Ellen the difficult 


Anchor Weighed 49 

feat of breathing with the head on one side when 
the arm comes np for the stroke and exhaling 
with the head under water. Ellen strangled and 
spluttered about for a while, as beginners do, time 
after time, reversing the order and breathing in 
under water and choking when she came up for 
the breath she was unable to take. After patience 
on the part of the pupil and teachers, she began 
making noble attempts to combine the breathing 
with the actual stroke. 

Jane and Frances had clambered up over the 
stern of the dinghy which had been made fast at 
the end of the lowered boat-boom and were 
engaged in a spirited discussion of the value of 
salt water swimming and the value of fresh water 
swimming. 

“ Frances, look ! Did you ever see such a beauty 
in your life? ” Jane gasped as she watched a tall, 
broad-shouldered, slender-hipped figure in a 
maroon swimming suit poise itself on the extreme 
end of the bowsprit before making the most per- 
fect jack-knife dive either of the girls had ever 
seen. 

“ Whew! the brown of his legs and shoulders 
against that dark red of his suit was just too 
beautiful to be true,” asserted Frances. “ And 


50 


The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

Jane, do you know who it was? Well, it was 
Breck and he has no right to be so gorgeous 

if 

looking.” 

“ He uses perfectly good English, whenever he 
speaks, which is seldom. What in the world do 
you suppose he is? ” Jane asked. 

“ I think he is awfully interesting, and I wish 
I knew something about him. He makes such a 
point of being just one of the men employed by 
Mr. Wing that I can’t help feeling that he isn’t 
an ordinary sailor, Jane.” 

“ Well, probably if we hadn’t seen him make 
that peach of a jack-knife and he hadn’t had that 
maroon bathing suit but some old faded grey one, 
we would probably never have given him a second 
thought, so let’s don’t anyway. Come on and get 
dressed, I am hungry as a shark.” Jane lightly 
dismissed the subject that interested her a great 
deal more than she cared to admit. 


CHAPTER V 


AT THE LANDING OF THE PILGRIMS 

“ I feel just exactly like tlie Pilgrim Fathers, 
don’t you, Mr. Wing? ” Jane said as she and 
Frances climbed up the wharf ladder from the 
dinghy. 

These two girls and Mr. Wing had grown to 
be the closest of friends and it had become a habit 
for them to take the little dinghy when the party 
went ashore, leaving the tender for the others. 
Mr. Wing had proved himself a delightful com- 
panion. In fact, as Frances said: “ He is every 
bit as crazy as we are.” 

“ You will love Plymouth, and then I want to 
sail you over to Provincetown, too. It is not 
nearly so charming as Plymouth, but it is inter- 
esting at that. Primarily, it is a fishing village but 
a lot of artists summer there and, sometimes, they 
have rather good exhibitions. ’ ’ 

Twilight had just settled over the little town 

as the three started up the hill from the water 

front. There was a great peace about the streets 

51 


52 


The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

and a gentle quietness over all the houses. The 
pilgrims walked along without speaking, taking 
in the simple beauty of the white houses, guarded 
by tremendous elms. 

“ And we have the nerve to talk about the 
Southern homes as if they were the only homes 
worth mentioning,’ ’ said Jane suddenly. “ Of 
course these are very different but I like them.” 

Mr. Wing smiled. “You know,” he said, “ that 
these houses are to me very much like the New 
England people, strong, simple and dignified and 
infinitely beautiful. ’ ’ 

“ It would be a wonderful place to come and 
grow very old in and a wonderful place to have 
had as your childhood home, but somehow I can’t 
imagine it for schoolboys and girls, can you? ” 
mused Frances. 

“ Well, Jane,” said Mr. Wing, as they neared 
the center of town, “ Frances and I have a 
bunch of telegrams and letters to send and, if 
you don’t want to bore yourself by waiting 
around for us, why don’t you go up to the top of 
that hill where the graveyard is and look around 
— it is very lovely — and then meet us and our 
daughters and brothers and friends at the Samo- 
set House in an hour. I thought it would be kind 


53 


At the Landing’ of the Pilgrims 

% 

of fun to have dinner there to-night. It is famous 
for its food.” 

‘ ‘ That will be dandy, if Frances will promise to 
send Daddy a telegram for me saying that Jack 
and I are still alive and kicking. I have been hav- 
ing too wonderful a time to write as much as I 
should and I know he will want to know what has 
become of me,” and Jane started up the hill to 
the cemetery. 

Looking around, she w^ts rather pleased to find 
that she was the only person in sight. She went 
over to a great tree and sank down into the deep 
soft grass, leaning her head back against the tre- 
mendous trunk. Jane thought it was a great pity 
that most people had such a morbid distaste for 
the resting place of the dead. She had never seen 
anything more beautiful than this high hill covered 
■with old tombstones and trees whose spreading- 
branches arched above her. A faint wind rustled 
among the many leaves and the warm air was 
filled with a delicate fragrance. 

Suddenly the base of the hill shone with misty 
lights and an involuntary exclamation of wonder 
fell from her lips as she gazed at the beauty of the 
scene that stretched before her. Even the realiza- 
tion that the sudden change had come with the 


54 The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

turning on of the town’s electric street lights 
failed to mar the enchantment she felt. 

“ It would make a perfect illustration for 
Dunsany’s tale ‘ The Edge of the World,’ ” 
announced a man’s voice close beside her. 

Jane turned her head with a peculiar feeling 
that nothing was unusual with this strange set- 
ting. It was Breck. 

“ Yes, and I would like to see a real artist do 
a huge canvas of it, wouldn’t you? ” she said. 

“ If he could get that unreal light that just 
burst forth,” Breck said. 

There was the clang-clang of a passing trolley 
car and the spell was broken. Jane’s thoughts 
came crashing back to reality. What in the world 
did Breck know about Dunsany and art ? And if 
he did know about them, as it was evident that he 
did, what could be his object in being a paid sailor 
on a rich man’s yacht? 

However, it was Breck ’s business and, if he 
did not wish to throw any light on the subject, 
she would not pry into his affairs but she felt that 
he was conscious of the slip he made. Breck ’s 
confusion was evident, so the girl casually asked 
what time it was and told him that she had to 
meet her friends for dinner and so was going. 


At the Landing of the Pilgrims 55 

She smiled good-bye and walked off down the 
hill. 

Jane left Breck rapt in admiration for a girl 
who was alive and interested in everything and 
thoroughly feminine, but had tact enough to keep 
from trying to divine some one else’s secret. 

He thought that he couldn’t imagine his sister 
or any of her friends refraining in so quietly sym- 
pathetic a manner from rushing in where angels 
feared to tread. All of these girls had a breezy 
out-doorsy way with them that he liked and he 
wished that that same sister of his might have 
joined a Camp Fire organization before she made 
her very successful debut. All of which thoughts 
were strange thoughts for an ordinary deck-hand 
to be entertaining in a mystic cemetery when he 
ought — if he was to stay in character — to be 
guzzling a plate of beans at a “ Quick and Dirty.” 

The others were waiting for Jane at the Sarno- 
set when she got there, rather out of breath from 
her fast walk. 

“ Jane looks so mysterious, I am sure she must 
have had a million adventures,” teased Frances. 

“ You might tell us about them if you did,” 
Ellen said. “ We made a very ordinary trip from 
the boat to shore, landing as usual. ’ ’ 


56 


The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

44 Well, you know I went to the cemetery and 
it is almost traditional that strange things hap- 
pen in graveyards,” was all that could he forced 
from Jane. 

44 If she w T on’t divulge the horrid secret, let’s 
feed. My appetite is straining on the leash,” sug- 
gested Charlie. 

Mabel giggled. 44 Charlie, I didn y t even know 
you had a leash for it. ’ ’ 

The little party entered the beautifully simple 
dining room that was typical of the Samoset and 
began one of the most delicious dinners in the 
history of the cruise 

On the way bacK to the 44 Boo jura,” Jack said 
to Ellen, 44 In all my life I never tasted anything 
as good as that duckling.” 

And much to his delight she answered, 44 Yes 
it was good and it is cooked by just the recipe 
my grandmother taught me. I believe you will 
like my duckling just as much as you liked the 
Samoset ’s.” 

44 I’ll adore yours, Ellen.” 

Again on deck, Mr. Wing looked at the sky with 

* 

the searching glance of a seaman. 44 We just did 
make it in time. In about five minutes we are 
going to have an awful big rain. Looks like she 


At the Landing* of the Pilgrims 57 

was coming up to blow, too. Hope we won’t drag. 
This is a poor harbor.” 

Before the girls had got into their banks, the 
rain Mr. Wing had foreseen was beating in 
through the open portholes and down the hatch. 

Jack and Charlie went rushing about closing 
portholes and shutting the hatch. “ It is going 
to be one stuffy night; I never can sleep without 
plenty of air,” observed Charlie. 

“ Stop putting on airs, Charlie; you could sleep 
if there wasn’t any air in the whole universe, and 
you know it,” Jack corrected him. 

Jane and Frances, overcome by giggles as usual, 
were trying to twist the ventilators in their room 
so the rain didn’t trickle in on them. 

Mabel opened her stateroom door and peered 
through the crack. “ Children and Daddy, I hate 
to be horrid, but you have simply got to stop 
smoking and go to bed and, if you go to sleep 
right away, you won’t miss not smoking. You 
see, without any air in the place, the smoke can’t 
get out and it all seems to come through my door 
some way. Anyhow, Ellen and I are simply 
gasping for breath.” 

Moved by the pitiful picture of Ellen and 
Mabel clutching their soft throats and writhing 


58 


The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

on the floor in the agonies of suffocation, Charlie 
and Jack immediately put out their cigarettes. 

“ Greater love than this has no man, that he 
put out his cigarette to please a girl, ’ ’ para- 
phrased Mr. Wing. “ I am going up on deck to 
see if they are holding all right. I hear Breck 
up there and I can finish my cigar in all the wind 
and rain. Do you hear that, Mabel? We are 
going to have a lively night.’ ’ 

Frances was almost asleep when Jane asked 
her, u Do you know whether Breck has a slicker 
or not? It must be horrid on deck in all this 
wet.” 

u Why Jane, how funny! How should I know 
about what clothes Breck has? This is the first 
bad weather w T e have had.” 

In the other cabin Ellen was saying to Mabel, 
“ Ugh! listen to the wind, and the groaning of 
the rigging, and the plash, plash of the water slop- 
ping against the poor old ‘ Boojum’s ’ sides.” 

Soon they were all asleep, the wind and rain 
unheeded. The steward snored with a series of 
really interesting variations, with such carrying- 
powers that it was fortunate that all the seafarers 
were good sleepers. The waves had become 
choppy and hit the 4 ‘ Boojum’s ” sides with angry 


59 


At the Landing of the Pilgrims 

little smacks. In spite of the lashings on the pilot 
wheel, the rudder thudded to and fro. 

Suddenly Mabel waked to find herself gouging 
into the bunk with her fingernails in much the 
attitude of some one climbing a steep clay bank, 
and her legs entirely out of the bunk. Ellen had 
slipped down on top of her and would surely 
have been on the floor had not Mabel ’s bulk 
stopped her. 

“ Daddy/ * Mabel called in the purely conver- 
sational tone in which one might say, “Will you 
have cream or lemon? ” “ Is this boat right? ” 

“ Why, of course it is. It is the rightest little 
boat in the Eastern Yacht Club.” Even when 
half asleep Mr. Wing was the proud possessor of 
“ the best little schooner that ever set sail.” 

“ Wake up quick and see! ” commanded Mabel. 
“ Something is the matter with the boat or my 
bed is broken and you have to do something in 
either case.” 

By this time, everybody aft was more or less 
awake. 

“ Did you ever hear such fascinating sounds as 
the steward is making? I would adore to arrange 
the orchestration for them and call it i Nocturnal 
Arabesques ’ or something,” Jane said to Frances. 


60 The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

“ But isn’t it funny, I am sleeping on the side of 
the ship instead of in my bunk and the rail around 
my little bunk is like a ceiling over my head and 
my bunk is like a wall? What do you suppose is 
the matter? ” 

“ I’m just the same way,” giggled Frances. 
•“ And I know we ought to feel excited and be 
running around with streaming fists and clenched 
hair and we just lie here upside down and giggle 
and talk nonsense. We have probably hit a rock 
or something and we will all be drowned like rats. ’ ’ 

Mr. Wing crawled in their cabin with much 
the same method a fly walks along the ceiling. He 
came in just in time to hear the end of Frances’ 
speech. “ You don’t seem to be making much 
effort to save yourself,” he laughed. “ But I’ll 
save you the anxiety you don’t seem to feel and 
tell you that nothing serious is the matter. We 
just anchored in too shallow water. While the 
tide was in, it was all right, but the tide is out now 
and we are turning turtle and are lying in the 
mud on our beam ends. There is no danger; it 
just means that we will be a bit upset till the tide 
comes in. Then we will beat it over to Province- 
town. ’ ’ 

“ You girls put on kimonos and come into the 


Exploring Gloucester 61 

saloon. I stuck my head down the galley hatch 
and found Breck prying the steward out from 
behind the stove where he slipped when we did 
our flip. I told him to make some coffee and it 
will he here in a minute/ ’ Jack announced thrust- 
ing a wet and tousled head into the cabin. 

“ When I was a kid, I used to wonder how the 
heathen Chinee could walk upside down on the 
other side of the world, but I see now that it was 
quite simple compared to this,” Charlie said as 
he landed the girls on the least perilous of the 
transoms. 

“ You certainly bruised us enough doing it. 

The last time Mabel slipped, you steadied yourself 

/ 

by grabbing my left ear,” said Frances ruefully. 

“ And my poor head,” laughed Ellen. “ Charlie 
reminded me of the Bellman, don’t you remem- 
ber! — 

“ 6 Just the place for a Snark ! ’ the Bellman cried, 
As he landed his crew with care ; 

Supporting each man on the top of the tide 
By a finger entwined in his hair. ’ 9 
“ You kids are certainly peaches,” and Mr. 

Wing literally beamed. “ Here you are quoting 
‘The Hunting of the Snark ’ and laughing and 
chatting just as if you weren’t cold and upside 
down and everything.” 


62 


The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

Just then Breck came in with a steaming cof- 
fee pot, in some mysterious way maintaining his 
equilibrium. 

“ Fortunately the steward didn’t hear your 
remark about the orchestration of his snores, or 
I don’t believe you would have got your coffee 
so soon,” Breck said in an undertone to Jane as 
he handed her her cup. 

Jane thought, as she sipped her coffee, that per- 
haps gray eyes were better suited for twinkling 
than any other eyes. 


CHAPTER VI 


BETTY WYNDHAM, ACTRESS 

With the incoming tide, the “ Boojum ” had 
righted herself and was soon nnder way. The 
tremendous rain had ceased as abruptly as it had 
begun and the sun shone valiantly as if to make 
up to the little party for the trick the tide, vassal 
of the moon, had played on them the past night. 
The winds had churned the water into choppy 
little waves that foamed against the “ Boojum ’s ” 
eager how. 

i 

“ I just adore this jerky motion,” Jane con- 
fided to Frances. “ But I wonder how long I’ll 
adore it. It reminds me of the time I went on a 
hunt on a Standard-bred trotter. I got there in 
time to see the dogs nab the poor fox, but I’m 
here to say I took an oath that that was the last 
time I would ride anything but a saddle horse. ’ ’ 

“ I like this too,” agreed Frances. “ It’s the 
most exciting sail we have had yet. We are cer- 
tainly scooting along. Wheel look at the spray 

come flying up over the bowsprit. Let’s go and 

63 


64 Tlie Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

get on the grating. I don’t believe either one of 
ns is going to be sick, ’specially if we stay np on 
deck. ’ ’ 

These two were nearly always to be found lying 
flat on the grating in the bow when they were sail- 
ing. As a concession to Mr. Wing, they had 
agreed to hold on to each other with one hand 
and on to the grating with the other. 

“ Are you two young tars feeling fit still? ” 
Mr. Wing asked them. “ Ellen and Jack are 
below looking pretty miserable and, of course, no 
power on earth will drag them up in the air. 
Ellen said that, if she saw the waves, she knew 
it would be all over with her. ’ ’ 

“ Tes, we saw them, when we went below to 
get extra sweaters. I believe Jack would like to 
come up, but he doesn ’t want to leave Ellen. Ellen 
would be much better off by herself, but she 
doesn’t like to hurt Jack’s feelings. There is 
nothing to do with people like that so we might 
as well forget them. It won’t be so long before 
we fetch Provincetown and then they will be all 
right.” And Jane dismissed the tragedy of the 
seasick lovers with a grin. 

Mr. Wing had been watching a fast little 
schooner ahead of them. 4 4 Hey you, Charlie ! ” he 


Betty Wyndham, Actress 


65 


called to tlie man at the wheel. “ You stop talk- 
ing to Mabel, and watch what you are about. We 
are pointing lots higher than that white schooner. 
Mabel, you come up here and play with these kids 
and Charlie and I will see if we can’t overhaul 
that boat on our next tack. ’ ’ 

Obediently Mabel slid and skidded along the 
slippery, slanting deck, and sat down with one 
arm around the mast. 

“ Daddy is so funny,” she said. “ We would 
have got there just as quickly if we had gone on 
as we were. We are a little off our course now, 
but Daddy likes to use every puff of wind. ’ ’ 

“ And I am going to as long as I sail a yacht. 
If I ever get to running a steamboat or a ferry to 
Jersey, I might change, but as long as I run the 
6 Boojum ’ she sails.” 

“ Well hush your fuss and run along now. You 
can sail backward if you want to, ’ ’ giggled Mabel, 
who always had the attitude that her father was 
her kid brother. 

“ Honestly, Mabel, this is the most wonderful 
day of all, but then it seems that every day is 
better than the last,” said Jane. 

“ And won’t it be fun to see old Betty Wynd- 
ham! We ought to have some kind of Camp Fire 


66 


The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

party. The only thing that I have against the 
4 Boojum ’ is that we can’t have a camp fire on 
her.” 

44 But s’pose Betty has got too grown-np to like 
that sort of thing,” ventured Frances. 

Jane shook her head at this. 44 I had a letter 

/ 

from her just before we left and she told me that 
she had just been to a clambake with some of 
the players, and, if she likes that, I know she will 
like to have a regular old-timer with us.” 

44 She will he surprised to see us. Can’t you 
just see her eyes widening behind those big bone 
glasses! ” Mabel stretched her own eyes wide. 
44 And look, I can just see the monument to the 
Pilgrim Fathers now. We will be there soon.” 

4 4 Oh ! ” Frances sighed. 4 4 Much as I want to 
see Betty I wish this sail would never end. I get 
so excited I can hardly stand it and, when the 
spray lands on me, I want to shout, ’ ’ 

44 You are just a modern pagan,” said Mabel 
looking at Frances’ vivid color and sparkling 
eyes, 4 4 and a mighty pretty one too. ’ ’ 

44 Away, thou perfidious flatterer. And me 
freckled as a guinea egg! Jane, pinch her for 
me.” 

44 You young’uns get the anchor free. We are 


Betty Wyndham, Actress 67 

going to drop it soon as we lose our way,” called 
Mr. Wing. 

Jane jumped up from her place and took off the 
ropes that held the anchor, and, balancing it with 
one hand in a thoroughly professional manner, 
began spitting over the side in the way she had 
found so ridiculous in Breck and Mr. Wing a few 
days since. 

“ All the way is lost now,” Jane cried in semi- 
nautical tones that made Breck smile as he pushed 
the anchor over the side. 

Little fishing boats were moored and anchored 
all around the u Boojum ” and soon men had 
come up on all the decks after the fashion of sail- 
ors to see what the latest ship looked like. 

Jane and Frances were at the davits, letting 
down the dinghy as Jack and Ellen came up from 
below, looking as Frances said rather ‘ 4 pale and 
pellucid.” 

“ Now, gents,” began Mabel bouncing up to the 
little group at the davits, “ we girls are going 
ashore and see Betty and we are going to have a 
regular reunion of the Camp Fire Girls and we 
don’t want any of you, much as we love you sepa- 
rately and collectively, to bother us. We’ll take 
the dinghy and spend the night with Betty if there 


68 The Camp Fire Girls Gn a Yacht 

is room and if there isn’t we’ll take her to a hotel 
for, goodness knows, there isn’t room on board 
for another thing.” 

44 And Jane and I are the ablest little seawomen 
in the bunch so we are going to row you and Ellen, 
Mabel,” and Frances steadied the dinghy with a 
far-reaching foot and leg, while Jane dropped 
over the side and put in the rowlocks. These two 
had long since waived the formality of the sea- 
ladder. 

4 4 Breck! ” called Jane to the sailor, 4 4 you put- 
over the sea ladder and we’ll row around to star- 
board and take on our middle-aged passengers.” 

44 Middle-aged passengers nothing,” shrieked 
Mabel. 44 You just hold the dinghy steady and 
we’ll get over here. As if I wasn’t doing this long 
before you were born! ” 

44 Well, doesn’t that prove your middle age? ” 
teased Frances. 

44 I’d drop this little grip on your head, Captain 
Kidd, if I wasn’t afraid I’d upset my fellow suf- 
ferer, Mabel,” announced Ellen, as she handed the 
little grip that held their nighties down to 
Frances. 44 I am so thoughtful, none of you 
remembered that you ought to have toothbrushes 
and combs if we are going to stay on shore tonight. 


Betty Wyndham, Actress 69 

How would you get on in this world without use- 
ful me to think about everything for you? ” 

“ Be sure to allow enough rope for the drop 
in the tide,” Jane cautioned Frances as she made 
the painter fast to a big iron ring sunk in the 
dock. 

“ Plain Jane, now you just hush up. Pd like to 
know who it was that tied the dinghy at Newport 
the time we came back from the movies and found 
the poor thing standing on its stern with its nose 
up in the air? ” 

“ Let’s go to the post office first, and see if 
there is any mail for us at general delivery,” sug- 
gested Ellen. i 6 Then we can set about the search 
for our little pal Betty.” 

Just as the girls were going into the post office, 
a hurrying girl ran into them. “ Pardon — well 
of all things! ” she cried. 

“ Why, Betty, what luck. Why didn’t you 
knock us down ? ’ ’ 

“ What fun to see you again,” they all said 
at once and drew amused smiles from the groux) 
in the post office. 

“ Come on to my room. I’m staying with the 
dearest little old lady in the world. Several of 
the other players have rooms with her too and we 


70 The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

# 

tear off a lot of fun when we aren’t working,” 
Betty told them as they went along the street. 

“ What ducky little houses these are,” Jane 
said to Frances. “ But not as charming as Plym- 
outh do you think, Betty? ” 

“ I think that the Greenwich Villagers, who 
come here for the summer, leave their mark just 
as they do everywhere. It is really more attract- 
ive in the winter when just the natives themselves 
are here,” explained Betty. 

Soon they were all in Betty’s neat room, lolling 
about on the bed, eating chocolates, and examining 
Betty’s new snapshots and possessions and ex- 
changing adventures. After Betty had been duly 
told of the upset at Plymouth, they all began to 
plan how they were to hold their reunion. At 
last, they decided on a clambake as the best. 

The little old lady who owned the house agreed 
to let them have a room with a double bed in it 
and by doubling up in one room and tripling up 
in the other they thought they could pass the night 
ashore. 

As soon as the sun set, the five friends trooped 
down to the beach and, gathering driftwood 
enough to bake all the clams in the world, started 
a huge campfire. 


Betty Wyndham, Actress 


71 


“ Um, I think baked clams are the most de- 
licious things in the world/ ’ said Jane as she ate 
her last one. 

“ Honestly, children, I am just too glad that 
you came by to see me. I was wondering how I 
was going to get through the summer without 
seeing at least some of the Camp Fire Girls/ ’ 
Betty smiled at the girls. 

“ I wish you had time to go for a few days’ 
sail with us. Don’t you suppose you could? ” 
Mabel begged. 

“ It is dear of you to ask me and you know 
there is nothing in the world I would like better, 
but I really am too busy. You know I am work- 
ing particularly hard so I can get to New York 
to hear Emmeline sing. ’ ’ 

“ We will see you then at any rate, ’cause we 
are going to be back in time for that too,” and 
Mabel gave Betty a clammy hug. 

“ Doesn’t that driftwood make the most gor-i 

geously colored flame? ” Ellen asked dreamily. 

“ I alwavs wonder about driftwood, what it was 
* * 

before it was cast up on the beach.” 

44 It is rather terrible to think how much of it 
was once ships, and by the way, would you mind 
if I said you a piece I ran across the other day? 


72 


The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

It isn’t exactly cheerful but I like it,” and Betty 
began a weird minor wail in lier rich deep voice — 
“ Whew! what a blood curdler! ” interrupted 
Jane. “ Stop it ! stop it ! It gives me the creeps.” 

“ Let’s save it until a sunny day and have 
something soothing to go to bed on,” suggested 
Ellen, shivering. 4 4 Why don’t we end this re- 
union by singing some of our own Gamp Fire 
songs? ” 

The five Camp Fire Girls began their favorite 
Good Night song : 

“ Now our Camp Fire fadetli, 

Now the flame burns low, 

Now all Camp Fire Maidens 
To Slumberland must go. 

May the peace of the lapping water 
The peace of the still starlight, 

The peace of the firelit forest 
Be with us through the night. 

The peace of our firelit faces 
Be with us through the night.” 


CHAPTER VII 


EXPLORING GLOUCESTER 

“ Gloucester! Oh, Jane, isn’t it great? ” 
Frances said to Jane as they stood on either side 
of the mast while the “ Boojum ” was picking her 
way into the harbor. 

Both sides of the harbor were lined with schoon- 
ers. The sky was barely perceptible through the 
rigging of the ships, so tightly were they wedged 
in around the docks. At Provincetown the cruis- 
ers had learned of the fishermen’s strike but they 
had not realized that it meant that the entire 
fishing fleet of Gloucester would be riding at 
anchor in the harbor. 

“ Gloucester’s sky line isn’t anything but 
masts, is it? ” 

“ No, but look Jane! They just let the sails go 
any way and they are all spilling in the water and 
look at all those Irishman’s pennants,” and 
Frances pointed out innumerable ropes let to drag 
in the water. 

66 The crews must have dropped anchor and 

73 


74 The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

dashed ashore without doing a single thing to- 
wards snugging ship. I suppose there is lots to 
be said for the fishermen, but I don’t see how they 
could hear to leave those dandy schooners all 
messy like that. And whew! smell the fishy 
smell. ’ ’ 

Jane and Frances had learned really to love the 
sea and to have deep feeling for the ships. It 
actually hurt them to see these sturdy fishing 
boats so deserted. 

“ Why, do you know, Frances, it seems just as 
cruel to me as if I had given Atta Boy a hard run 
and turned him into his stall and left his saddle 
and bridle on and rushed off without rubbing him 
down and forgotten to feed him and everything. 
It doesn’t seem human,” Jane grew quite 
indignant. 

“ Did you notice that long black schooner, the 
‘ Josephine R,’ how she was pulling on her anchor 
chain, looked as if she wasn’t going to stick around 
much longer and stand for this careless treat- 
ment? I’ll bet she is an imperious lady.” 

There was no sign of life on any of the many 
boats riding at anchor. The sun had set and each 
one should have shown a riding light, but none 
did, nor did it seem likely that they would. Yet 


Exploring* Gloucester 


75 


it seemed t.liat each boat was in itself alive and 
indignantly complaining to its neighbor of the 
careless treatment it had received at the hands 
of the crew. As Frances said, the “ Josephine 
R ” looked as though she had no intention of put- 
ting up with such inconsideration. 

Jane had been at the wheel all afternoon with 
Breck near enough and ready to help her if she 
got off her course or if she wanted any of the 
sails hauled in. Mr. Wing had said that Jane was 
farther advanced in her nautical education than 
any of the other girls because she had come to 
the stage where she not only knew when something 
was wrong about the sails but she knew just what 
to do to make it right and could get almost as 
much out of the “ Boojum ” as its owner could. 

The silent Breck had become quite talkative, 
responding to Jane’s naturalness as everyone else 
always did. He had told her about Gloucester and 
some of the amusing tales about the sportiness of 
the Gloucester fishermen even while they were 
hard at work off the Grand Banks. They had both 
read Kipling’s “ Captains Courageous ” and 
Jane was eager to know more of the delightful 
little town, and the sturdy independent people who 
lived in it. 


76 


The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

“ They know the sailing game better than any- 
body else in the world and you can tell a Glouces- 
ter crew and ship a long ways off just by the way 
she sails. And the risks they take ! When most 
captains give order to put in a reef or two these 
Gloucester chaps just crack on more canvas and 
walk away. And they know all these waters like 
you w T ould know your own top drawer,” he had 
told her. 

And she had laughed at this last and answered 
that that showed how little he knew about her, be- 
cause neither she nor anyone, not even a Glouces- 
ter fisherman, could sail through the conglomerate 
mess in her uncharted top drawer. 

Then she had asked how he happened to know 
so much about Gloucester and had bitten her lip 
the minute she had said it, for that was the one 
thing she had meant not to do, question him about 
himself. 

But Breck had answered her with a smile and 
a vague “ Oh, I stayed here once.” 

As she stood beside Frances, she mentally ran 
over the little talks she had had with Breck and 
realized more acutely how clever he was, how 
quick his perception, and keen his observation of 
people were. How she would have loved to have 


Exploring Gloucester 77 

him take her through Gloucester and show her all 
the narrow little streets that ran back from the 
water, and which he had pictured so vividly to 
her. “ Why are things as they are? ” she asked 
herself. “ I know Breck would like to ask me to 
go ashore with him tonight because he almost 
said so and yet he won’t because he is in Mr. 
Wing’s employ as a deck hand. As if that would 
make any difference, and anyway, I know he isn’t 
just an ordinary deck hand! He is twice as nice 
as anybody I have ever known and if he doesn’t 
ask me, I’ve a good mind to ask him to take 
me myself.” 

“ Jane! Jane! do stop dreaming, and let’s go 
below and get supper. That’s the second time 
Mabel has called us,” said Frances, giving her a 

0 

little shake. “ If I didn’t know you weren’t I 
would certainly say you were in love. Anyway 
you have all the symptoms.” 

During supper, Jane determined that she would 
not let ridiculous little conventionalities prevent 
the promoting of her new found friendship with 
Breck. Clandestine meetings and common in- 
trigue were entirely foreign to her straightfor- 
ward self and so she decided that she would just 
tell the others that she was going to ask Breck 


78 


The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

to set her ashore and go with her to telegraph 
Aunt Min her next post office address. 

“ And Breck has been to Gloucester before and, 
while we are ashore, I am going to come right out 
and ask him if he won’t take me through some of 
those little narrow streets on the water front,” 
she confided to Mr. Wing up on deck directly after 
supper. 

“ Yes, I would if I were you,” Mr. Wing ad- 
vised her. “ I think Breck is thoroughly interest- 
ing, and to he bromidic, he is one of ‘ nature’s 
gentlemen ’ if not one of society’s. Besides, from 
little things he let drop one night when we were on 
the same watch, I believe he took this job for some 
definite reason other than for self-support. Often 
I have wished he would mix a bit more with us. 
You are the only one of the girls he even notices. 
Sometimes I think he isn’t awfully happy — any- 
thing you can do with him or for him, Plain Jane, 
will be heartily approved by the skipper, I can 
assure you.” 

Their conversation was stopped by the appear- 
ance of Breck through the galley hatch. “ If you 
are ready, Miss Pellew, I will be very glad to 
take you to the Western Union,” he said very 
formally. 


Exploring Gloucester 79 

44 Heavens ! ” thought Jane, 44 he is all stiff 
again. How can I unbend him so he will be limber 
as he was this afternoon. I will begin with some 
clever, original remark about the weather.’ ’ 

But Breck anticipated her by saying politely, 
44 When we get up as far north as Portland, I ex- 
pect we will see some northern lights.” Then 
warming to his subject he continued, 44 I believe 
you said you had never been north before. I do 
hope we have a chance to see the lights then, 
because I know you would love them.” 

44 Unswallowing his poker already,” mentally 
commented Jane. 4 4 This trip will no doubt turn 
out all right.” Aloud she said frankly, 44 Breck, 
I love to talk to you. You always sound as if you 
had knocked about such a lot — just what I always 
wanted to do and would have done, no doubt, if I 
hadn’t been born Jane instead of John.” 

Breck smiled at this open compliment and 
again compared her with his blase sister and her 
group of friends suffering from a heavy boredom. 
44 A bit too much, according to some people’s way 
of thinking,” he answered rather grimly. 

44 Well, of course, half of the world doesn’t 
approve of what the other half does and disap- 
proval makes an almost impassable barrier 


80 


The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

against understanding, but let’s hurry to the tele- 
graph office and then you will poke around this 
funny little place with me, won’t you? ” Jane 
demanded as they clambered up the wharf ladder. 

“ I am hoping for several replies to messages I 
sent at the last port,” Breck told her as they 
walked along the narrow sidewalk that went past 
old and battered warehouses and sail lofts. 

“ Everything even on land at Gloucester has 
got to do with sea, ships or sailors in some way, ’ ’ 
Jane said as she observed the different signs in 
the shop windows, advertising sailors’ outfits, 
slickers, rubber boots reaching to the hip and 
sou ’westers. 

At the Western Union office, Jane sat down to 
write her message to Aunt Min and Breck went 
to the desk. Jane heard him ask if any telegrams 
for Allen Breckenridge had been received. The 
clerk give him two after the usual frantic search 
through the files. Over the first one he read Jane 
saw him knot his brows into a frown and she was 
much relieved when the frown changed into a 
broad grin at the perusal of the second message. 

“ Allen Breckenridge,” Jane thought, “ what a 
peach of a name. I always thought Breck was a 
mighty little name for such a big man. I wish to 


Exploring Gloucester 81 

goodness he would tell me why he is doing what 
he is. And I wish I wasn’t so awfully much inter- 
ested in him . 9 9 

“ Are you finished now? 99 he smiled down at 
her, “ because if you are, let’s get out on the 
street. All the men off the boats are wandering 
around, looking at the barometers in the different 
shop windows, just as if they were interested in 
the weather now as when on board their schoon- 
ers. Poor chaps, I reckon they are at a loss for 
something to do. These New Englanders don’t 
know the gentle art of loafing like the Southerners 
do. ’ ’ 

“ Why Breck,” laughed Jane. “ How can you, 
when you know I am from old Kentuck’? Aren’t 
you ashamed? ” 

“ But you are different, you know, certainly 
different from my notion of the southern girl. I 
had always thought of them as lying around in 
hammocks and eating chocolates during the day 
and refusing heartbroken young men’s proposals 
most of the night.” 

“ But they don’t refuse all the young men ap- 
parently because I had to give exactly nine wed- 
ding presents this spring. And, besides, I eat an 
awful lot of candy,” Jane objected. 


82 


The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

“ Anyway, I’ll say it again. You are different. 
Do you mind if I compliment you in rather a 
horsy way? You handle yourself better than any 
girl I ever saw. I would give a lot to see you on 
a horse too, by the way.” 

“ Thanks, Breck! That is one of the nicest 
things I ever had said to me and, of course, I don’t 
mind, why should I? ” 

“ Oh, just the difference in our positions,” 
Breck answered, looking at her very keenly with 
his clear gray eyes. 

“ That is the first thing I have heard you say 
that I didn ’t like. 1 Position ’ is a ridiculous word 
and one I don’t choose to recognize. And, in the 
second place, you know perfectly well that I was 
obliged to hear you ask for messages for Allen 
Breckenridge, so you evidently aren’t exactly 
what you seem, not that it is anything either for 
or against you.” 

“ Forgive me, I knew you would feel like that, 
but I just wanted to be sure. Allen Breckenridge 
is my name, but it seems an awful lot of name to 
sail under so I just chopped it off to suit me. 
Wonder what the family would say to the mutila- 
tion of the name.” Breck chuckled at the thought. 

“ If they are at all like the Kentucky Brecken- 


Exploring Gloucester 


83 


ridges, I can tell you. They would dilate their 
nostrils and pinch in their lips and say, 4 Really, 
it doesn’t seem possible that anyone could do such 
a ridiculous thing! ’ ” Jane imitated the family 
hauteur. 

“ I can see that you know them all right,” 
Breck said. “ They are a funny bunch, aren’t 
they? ” His face took on the grave look that it so 
often wore and that had caused Mr. Wing to con- 
fide in J ane that he did not believe Breck was very 
happy. 

It was a look that Jane hated to see there be- 
cause she was so powerless to help him. She could 
not comfort him in ignorance of his trouble and 
her dread of intruding in his private affairs kept 
her from trying to discover it. Jane put her arm 
through his and said, “ It's getting late, Breck, 
we had better go back. ” 

Not until they were again on board the “ Boo- 
jum ” did either of them realize that, after all, 
they had seen very little of Gloucester. 


! 


CHAPTEB VIII 


WHAT FKANCES FOUND 

“ Portland harbor is so beautiful that I bate to 
leave it,” Ellen said to the other girls as they 
were getting under way. 

“ So do I,” agreed Mabel. “ There never was 
anything so lovely as that harbor with the lighted 
bridge running across it.” 

” And it just seemed too wonderful to be true 
for those northern lights to appear on top of 
everything else. I would have given anything if 
the rest of you had been up on deck to see them 
too. I didn't know what had happened till Breck 
stuck his head up through the galley hateh and 
told me,” Jane said. 

“ Speaking of Breck,” Frances put in, 4 4 have 
you ever seen anything like the change in that 
gentleman? When we first came on board, he was 
silent as the grave and solemn as any owl, and now 
he works around on deck, whistling and he talks 
a lot more. And,” she added, “ he knows how 
to talk remarkably well too.” 

84 


What Frances Found 


85 


“ But have you noticed to whom he talks! ” in- 
quired Mabel with a teasing glance at Jane. 

“ Why no, come to think of it, I hadn’t noticed 
particularly.” 

“ As if you would notice anything, Ellen, with 
Jack anywhere near you. If I ever get so wrapped 
up in my fat Charlie, will you all promise to 
drown me! ” begged Mabel. 

“ You are both of you unbearable. But promise 
to drown you! No, it would hasten your death 
too much,” and Frances laughed at Mabel’s plead- 
ing face. “ The disease is just as bad in you as 
in Ellen. The only difference is in the way it 
affects you. It makes Ellen a little quieter than 
usual and you a little noisier.” 

The “ Boojum ” had gathered speed and was 
roaring along with the spray coming over the bow 
and drenching the girls to such an extent that they 
were forced to go and sit tamely in the cockpit, a 
thing that was distasteful to them all, but particu- 
larly to Frances and Jane. 

“ If our wind and luck hold, we can easily make 
Vinal Haven tonight,” said Charlie, looking up 

r 

from the chart he and Jack had been reading. 

‘ ‘ For my part, ’ ’ announced Frances , 1 6 I hope it 
doesn’t. We have been too lucky, always doing 


86 The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

just what we set out to do. With the exception of 
turning over at Plymouth, everything has hap- 
pened according to Hoyle.’ ’ 

“ Well, we will see if we can’t arrange a little 
shipwreck for the bloodthirsty lady from the wild 
and woolly west,” laughed Jack. 

At sunset the “ Boojum ” was nosing her way 
through a little group of islands, lying purple on 
the dark water. To port lay the largest, its rocky 
cliffs taking on weird lights from the sinking sun. 

Jane caught her breath in a little gasp of admi- 
ration. Reaching for the chart, she quickly found 
their whereabouts. 4 4 Mr. Wing,” she called ex- 
citedly, “ this is just too lovely a spot to pass. 
The chart says it’s Hurricane Island and dead 
ahead is Old Harbor. Can’t we stop here tonight 
instead of going on to Vinal Haven. Old Harbor 
ought to be a good anchorage. It is protected on 
three sides by these islands.” 

“ Why Plain Jane, as far as I am concerned, 
we can. The others are an easy-going bunch and 
generally want to do whatever anybody suggests. 
Let me see the chart.” 

Jane hung over him until he nodded his head in 
approval of the harbor’s description on the chart 
and then dashed forward to free the anchor. 


V/hat Frances Found 


87 


“ Oh! Breck, did you ever in your life see any- 
thing quite as beautiful as that big island with 
the sun slipping down back of it?” she asked him 
as he leaned against the foremast, looking out for 
buoys. 

“ I am mighty glad you asked Mr. Wing to 
anchor here tonight. I was just thinking that was 
just what I would do if I were on my own boat.” 

“ Can you tell whether those purplish humps 
on the island are houses or just huge boulders? 
It seems a funny place for a settlement and, be- 
sides, there isn’t a single light in any of the win- 
dows if they are houses and not rocks,” asked 
Jane, peering into the fast-gathering darkness. 

“ Tomorrow, if you say so and there is time, 
I’ll row you over and we can find out. I don’t 
believe I ever heard of Hurricane Island before. 
It ’s a nice adventurous kind of name though. ’ ’ 

Mabel came bouncing along the deck in the way 
peculiar to her and broke in with, “ Everybody 
is raving about the beauty of this place and, 
of course, I know it is really lovely but nobody 
will listen to me and my material thoughts. I 
have seen one million lobster pots, I know and, 
Breck, please try and see tomorrow if you can’t 
get some for us. Where there are so many lobster 


88 The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

pots, there must be some people to take the 
lobsters out.” 

The next morning directly after breakfast Jane 
and Frances took the dinghy and rowed over to 
explore a small island running up into a high peak. 
Mr. Wing had promised to let the little party 
stay at this interesting spot for as long as they 
liked. The original plan had been to cruise on to 
Bar Harbor and then come leisurely back to New 
York. With one accord, it had been decided that 
it would be more fun to stop at Old Harbor for a 
few days than to go on to Bar Harbor for, as 
Mabel said, “ there is nothing at Bar Harbor but 
clothes and silly little men,” and Charlie had said, 
“ What about the fluffy little girls? ” 

Jack and Ellen and Mabel and Charlie had gone 
out in the tender to follow some fishermen and 
make arrangements for getting Mabel the coveted 
lobsters. Mr. Wing, the steward, and Breck had 
stayed aboard the “ Boojum ” to keep ship, which 
meant for Mr. Wing, lying on the deck mattress 
and dozing in the sun; for the steward, a general 
galley cleaning, and for Breck the filling of many 
sheets of white paper with his surprisingly small 
writing. 

“ Now that we are here,” Frances said to Jane 


What Frances Found 


89 


as she jumped out on the rocky beach of the island, 
“ I don’t see what in the world we are going to 
tie the dinghy to. ’ ’ 

44 Why not lug one of these rocks down and set 
it on the rope? That ought to hold it,” suggested 
J ane. 

Assuring themselves that the dinghy was made 
fast, the two friends set out to see the island. It 
was literally covered with blueberries, as they 
had so often found to be the case in the other 
little islands they had seen during the trip. 

After eating her fill, Jane announced that she 
was going to lie down and go to sleep in the sun. 

“ Lazy Jane, no sleep for me. I am going to 
climb to the very top of the hill and to the very 
top of the huge rock on top of the hill. Excelsior ! 
It will be a gorgeous view up there. You ought 
to come.” Frances started out with many flour- 
ishes of a long stick she had found. 

The warmth of the sun and the sound of the 
water beating against the rocks that bordered the 
island soon sent Jane into a delicious sleep. 

Frances clambered up the hill, stopping now and 
again to look out over the water, the panorama 
becoming more beautiful as she climbed higher. It 
was difficult climbing too, for there were many 


90 The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

loose rocks and she started several miniature land 
slides. 

On the extreme top of the hill was a rocky 
plateau, in the center of which lay a shallow pool 
of stagnant water. As she drew near, two huge 
black crows cawed and flew from its edge. 

4 4 Ugh! ” she said. 44 How very gruesome, and 
how silly for me to be talking out loud.” Then 
she heard a little sound as of a sharp, intaken 
breath, coming from behind a big, flat rook to the 
left of where she stood. She went quickly and 
leaned over the rock. At the sight of a man’s 
prostrate figure she involuntarily drew back. 

44 Dern the luck,” said the figure in a rather 
weak voice. 

44 If you would ask me I would say 4 bless the 
luck’,” contradicted Frances, coming forward to 
see what was the trouble. 

At the sound of her voice, the man tried to 
raise himself on an elbow but, making a wry face, 
he gave it up. 

44 I am in luck now somebody has come, but I 
have been here since yesterday afternoon,” he 
said. 

44 What in the world happened to you? ” 

44 Slipped on a rock. Think I must have broken 


f 


What Frances Found 91 

my thigh bone; anyway I can’t move my left leg.’* 

“ It would hurt terribly to move you without a 
stretcher, wouldn’t it? ” 

“ One thing certain, it couldn’t hurt me any 
more than just staying here.” 

“ Well, then I will go down and get Jane,” 
announced Frances. 

“ What good will a Jane do? I don’t want to 
be rude, but this thing hurts like the devil.” 

“ Say whatever you want to; you might be 
allowed that. I’ll be back in a jiffy. ” Frances shot 
down the hill with lightning speed. She pounced 
on Jane and woke her with a little shake. 

Jane rubbed sleepy eyes and raised a critical 
eyebrow. 

“ Broken-legged man — up on top — by him- 
self — how in the world can we get him down ? ’ * 
panted Frances. 

“ Have to improvise a stretcher,” said Jane, 
wide awake at once. “ Thank heavens for the 
blessed old Camp Fire organization. We can take 
the oars and slip our skirts on them and that will 
make a dandy stretcher.” 

‘ ‘ Jane, you are a perfect peach ! I never would 
have thought of that,” Frances told her friend as 
they ran down to where they had left the dinghy. 


1 


92 The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

To their dismay they found that the tide had 
gone out and the constant tugging had slipped the 
rope out from under the rock and the dinghy was 
slipping along on the tide about a hundred yards 
from shore. Quickly the girls got out of their 
skirts and, in their jersey silk bloomers and flan- 
nel blouses, waded out into the water toward the 
rapidly receding boat. 

Giggling a little with excitement, Frances said, 
il Goodness, but I am glad we left our shoes on. 
These rocks w r ould have simply killed our feet.” 

Soon they were in deep water and they struck 
out with the strong double over arm that had been 
the env} T of Ellen. In no time, they had wriggled 
over the side of the dinghy and were pulling for 
the island. This time the two girls dragged the 
dinghy clear of the receding tide to be sure that 
they would have no further misadventures. 

Each one taking an oar and a skirt, they started 
the uphill climb. 

“ Suppose you hadn’t found him, Frances. 
Wouldn’t it have been awful? ” and Jane shud- 
dered a little at the thought. “ What does he 
look like? ” 

“ I didn’t have time to notice much but that he 
had on a heavy gray sweater and fearfully dirty 


What Finances Found 93 

white duck trousers. I don’t even know whether 
he is big or little. ’ ’ 

On reaching the rocky plateau, Jane exclaimed, 
“ Frances, this is the most moving-picturey place 
to discover an injured gent I ever saw T ! 9 9 

Frances led her around the big rock and she 
looked down at the man. “ How much do you 
weigh! 99 Jane asked by way of greeting. 

The man smiled a little at this and answered, 

‘ ‘ One hundred and eighty, but, after no dinner or 
breakfast, I suppose I have wasted away to a 
mere nothing .’ 9 

“ Well, Frances, that means each of us carries 
ninety pounds down the hill. But we can do it 
as long as we don ’t have to do it every day. ’ 9 
“ Of course, I couldn’t think of letting you do 
such a thing,” objected the man. 

“ I would like to know how you are going to 
help it. To be sure, we could go back to the boat 
and get one of the boys, but that would just delay 
the game and I know you ought to get that leg set 
as soon as possible. Besides, I don’t believe men 
are any better in an emergency than girls, ’spe- 
cially Camp Fire Girls; do you, Jane! ” 

The girls slipped the skirts on the oars and laid 
the improvised stretcher close beside the man. 


94 The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

He was able to help them a little and, without 
causing him too much pain, they at last had him 
on the stretcher. 

“ I am awfully sorry for you; it will be hard 
on you going down this hill, but we will try not 
to bump you,” Jane promised him. 

The man on the stretcher had not lost a bit of 
his hundred and eighty pounds, the girls decided 
as they lifted their load. Both of them were 
thankful for their hard muscles and good wind. 
After what seemed ages, they reached the beach 
and set the stretcher in the dinghy. Then both of 
them threw themselves flat on the seaweed that 
the tide had left and rested and caught their wind. 
The man had lost consciousness from the painful 
journey down and from lack of food. 

“ No use bringing him to till we get on the boat. 
It will hurt him horribly getting him over the side. 
Another thing, Jane, there won't be room enough 
for both you and me in the dinghy now. You pull 
a better oar than I do, so you get in and row the 
man out and I’ll swim along out in a minute. I’ll 
get there soon after you do.” 

“ But I could come back for you,” objected 
Jane. “ You must be dead tired.” 

“ Of course I don’t feel ‘ fresh as a daisy/ but 


What Frances Found 


95 


it is no harder for me to swim out to the boat than 
it is to row out.” 

There was no one on deck of the “ Boojum ” as 
J ane brought the dinghy carefully alongside. She 
called to Breck and he came up from the galley. 

At his surprised look she said, “ Frances found 
this broken-legged man up on the top of the hill 
on that island and we brought him down. He has 
fainted or something and I don’t see how we can 
get him over the side of the ‘ Boojum’.” 

“ How in the world you two kids did it is be- 
yond me, but I will ask questions later. Mr. Wing 
and I can rig up a bosun’s chair and get him on 
board all right.” 

Breck waked Mr. Wing and they set to work to 
rig the bosun’s chair and soon had the man lying 
on one of the transoms in the saloon. 

“ Now,” said Mr. Wing, “ it yet remains for 
us to get a doctor to him.” 

“ Mr. Wing,” said Breck in an embarrassed 
way, “ it wouldn’t do for me not to tell you this. 
I have had three years of medicine at Harvard 
and was with an ambulance corps in France dur- 
ing the first two years of the war. What I mean 
is that I can set the leg and I think I had better 
do it before it swells any more. Jane, you get 


96 


The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

some waste from the locker to the right of the 
engine and pack some long planks for the splints. 
If it is necessary, we can get him int-o a cast at 
Portland.’ ’ 

With deft hands Breck got off the man’s shoe 
and cut away the duck trousers. Jane, with her 
head in a whirl, found two suitable boards in the 
galley, evidently parts of a box in which provi- 
sions had come, and she mechanically began to 
pad them with waste. “ That makes him about 
thirty,” she thought, “ because it has been two 
years since the war. I hope he doesn’t think of 
me as a perfect kid. I wall be twenty-one in a 
month, anyway.” 

A wet and bedraggled Frances clambered over 
the side and appeared in the saloon just in time 
to get a weary, grateful smile from the man as he 
came to. 


CHAPTER IX 


THE AFFAIRS OF BEECH 

The day after Frances 9 adventure on the hill- 
top found both Jane and Frances stiff in their 
shoulder muscles. Aside from that, there were no 
ill effects from their long and heavy lift. The 
man they had rescued was more than hospitably 
received by Mr. Wing and had been urged to 
make the boat his home until he was able to go 
down the sea ladder unassisted. Breck had set 
his leg with sure skill and the patient had eaten 
a hearty breakfast and declared that he was in no 
pain at all. 

After breakfast, the little party had gathered 
around him to hear his story. Out of considera- 
tion of his weariness the night before, they had 
unanimously refrained from questioning him. 
However, Frances had kept Jane awake well into 
the night with surmises of her find r s looks and 
personality. 

“ What do you suppose he would look like, Jane, 

with a clean face and a shave and his hair combed 

97 


98 The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

and decent clothes? ” she had asked. “ He has 
such a lot of red hair that I bet he is cross as the 
dickens.” 

“ Child,” said Jane with the superior wisdom 
of one who has lived for twenty-one years with a 
wifeless father and a motherless brother, “ all 
men are cross when they are sick. He is probably 
quite nice.” 

Consequently the strange man’s discoverer ^vas 
delightfully surprised when she came down from 
on deck to hear his story and found him nicely 
shaven, with his red hair, which she immediately 
decided was auburn, brushed till it shone and his 
dirty white ducks replaced by a gay bathrobe of 
Jack’s. 

“ I would like to make it awfully interesting,” 
he began with a grin, “ I feel that the two girls 
who carried my hundred and eighty pounds down 
that hill should have the reward of having saved 
a movie hero or the lost heir — anyone, in fact, 
except just plain Tim Reynolds, who is doing noth- 
ing more romantic than spending the summer with 
his family at Nantucket Island. That is I am sup- 
posed to be — the fact is I am proud possessor of 
a thirty-foot sailboat and, as the result of that, 
I had the misfortune, or the fortune rather,” this 


The Affairs of Breck 


99 


with a friendly little nod at Frances , 4 4 to sail into 
Old Harbor and climb up that hill and break my 
leg. ’ ’ 

“We are glad you did,” announced Mabel geni- 
ally and then as everybody laughed at her she 
added, 44 Of course, I don’t mean I am glad he 
broke his leg, you all are so silly. Mr. Reynolds, 
you know I meant that we are glad you are on 
board the 4 Boojum,’ don’t you? ” 

Tim Reynolds nodded reassuringly and begged 
them not to call him 44 Mister.” 

44 You must let us take you to Nantucket, Tim,” 
said Mr. Wing. 

44 I couldn’t think of it, sir, you have been far 
too good already. ’ ’ 

44 But we are going to Nantucket anyway. All 
of us want to see ’Sconset,” put in Frances. 

44 There is nothing I would like better, if you 
are really going there and I won’t be too much of 
a care. And, now that I have accepted, don’t you 
suppose it would be a good idea to get a message 
to my fond parents to the effect that their son is 
still inhaling and exhaling at regular intervals % ’ ’ 

Ellen said in her quiet way, 44 I have just been 
looking at the chart and Vinal Haven is only a 
short distance from here. Why can’t Mabel and 


100 The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

Charlie and Jack and I take the tender and go to 
Vinal Haven and send a telegram to the fond 
parents? I know that they have laid a cable to 
Nantucket from Martha’s Vineyard. We could be 
back in time for lunch.” 

“ Isn’t that a good idea? ” asked Jack proudly. 

* 4 It is if you four can remember what you are 
going for,” teased his sister. “ Mr. Wing, will it 
leave you too stranded if I get Breck to row me 
over to Hurricane Island in the dinghy? I am 
wild to know why there are so many deserted 
houses there. So far, I haven’t seen a sign of 
life.” 

“ Would you mind very much rowing round the 
island I stumbled over and see if my boat is still 
there? I put over the two anchors; she ought to 
hold,” Tim said to Breck. 

“ And what are you going to do about getting 
her home? ” Frances asked Tim, coming over to 
sit on the companion steps as the others went 
above. 

‘ ‘ We’ve decided enough for one day. Let’s 
worry about that tomorrow. Why don’t you tell 
me how you and Jane happen to be such quick 
thinkers and how you happened to have enough 
grit to get me down that long hill? ” 


The Affairs of Breck 


101 


There was a great noise and bustle on deck, as 
was always the case when Mabel was about to do 
anything. Soon the sound of the tender’s motor 
was heard and its wash licked against the “ Boo- 
jum’s ” sleek black sides. Jane peered down the 
hatch with intent to ask Frances to come along 
with Breck and herself, but on seeing the pleasant 
conversation that was beginning, she decided not 
to interrupt it. 

“ Let’s go over to Hurricane Island first and 
come back by the island of adventure to see if 
Tim Beynolds’ boat is there,” suggested Breck, 
as he pulled the dinghy along with sure strokes. 

Watching him, Jane thought how very well he 
did whatever he set his hand to do. This was 
their first moment alone since the startling dis- 
closure Breck had made about himself the day 
before. Not that it had come as a very great sur- 
prise to Jane, because she had always felt that he 
was some one other than a deck hand and she 
might have known that he would have been among 
the first to offer himself to serve humanity. 

As he rowed, he watched her and, seeing her 
thoughtful expression, suddenly asked her, “ Jane, 
what are you wondering about! ” 

“ About Breck,” she said frankly. 


102 


The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

“ What do you want to know about him? ” he 
asked, smiling at her utter frankness. 

“ Whatever he wants to tell me.” 

“ That is a large order, because do you know, 
Jane, I want to tell you everything good or bad 
that has ever happened to me. I’ve wanted to 
tell you several things for some time, but I felt 
that I had no right to burden you with my affairs. ’ ’ 

“ Breck, you know I’ve wanted to know about 
you but felt that I had no right to pry into those 
same affairs. Do you remember that night at 
Gloucester, when you got those two telegrams? 
I saw you frown at one and grin at the other. It 
was all I could do to keep from asking what had 
happened, ’specially about the one you didn’t 
seem to like,” she confessed. 

“ The one I liked was from a friend of mine in 
New York. I left a lot of stories with him and 
asked him to get the stuff decently copied and 
send some of them around to different magazines 
for me. The telegram told me that the Saturday 
Evening Post had accepted a story and wanted 
to see more. That tickled me mightily, because 
it is the first luck I have had with a big magazine. 
The other was from my sister, assuring me that 
my father was as mad at me as ever.” 


The Affairs of Breck 


103 


“ I wondered why you didn’t write, Breck, you 
are always so keenly interested in people’s actions 
and reactions. I am awfully glad the Post took 
the story. Will you tell me why your father is 
mad at you, too? ” 

4 4 To begin with, we have always disagreed from 
the time he sent me to a norfolk-jacket-and-buster- 
brown - collar - country - school - for- rich-little-boys 
and I wanted to wear a jersey and go to a public 
school in town. Not that I didn’t love the coun- 
try, because the part of my life I remember with 
most pleasure is the summers I spent on my 
uncle’s ranch in the west.” Breck ’s sunburned 
face took on the sad look that was so distressing 
to Jane. He continued, 44 A surprising thing hap- 
pened. Both of us agreed on my going to Harvard 
and finally on my going into medicine. Every- 
thing was all right for two years and a half, when, 
at Christmas vacation, I decided to spend my holi- 
days with some friends in New York instead of 
taking the trip across the continent to spend the 
time with my family in California.” 

44 But surely, just the failure to be with him at 
Christmas was not enough to cause a real breach,” 
Jane broke in. 

44 No, but what happened next was,” Breck 


104 


The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

went on. “ My two friends and I had ridiculously 
large allowances. One night, we thought it would 
be fun to go slumming and see how the other half 
lived. For their sakes, I hope they have forgotten. 
For my part, I don’t believe I ever shall. The 
wretchedness, the sick misery of those people! 
At any rate, after my trip, I became fired with a 
great desire to do something for those people and 
wrote home to Father that I intended to hang out 
my shingle in the east side and, of course, practice 
for nothing. It never entered my head that 
Father wouldn’t abet me in such a work. He is 
very, very rich indeed and I thought that he would 
not only continue my allowance but probably give 
me large donations from time to time so that I 
might be able even to have an infirmary in con- 
nection with my office. My dream was short lived. 
When I got back to college, I found a. curt note 
saying that my plan was ridiculous and that my 
allowance would be stopped immediately and that 
he would decline to foot the bill for my tuition 
with any such career in view. I wrote him in 
reply that I intended to do as I had written him 
before. He made good his threat and I stayed on 
at college for a few months, doing that supposedly 
romantic thing, ‘ working my way through ’ 


The Affairs of Brack 


105 


mostly by selling short things to small magazines. 
It is something that no one should be allowed to 
do too, let me tell you. Why there aren’t more 
cases of brain fag among the students that at- 
tempt it, I don’t see. Then things got so rotten 
on the other side that I couldn’t stand not being 
in it. So at last I got over with a bunch of my 
older friends with a French ambulance unit. ’ ’ 

Dismissing the part he played in the war as 
rapidly as possible, he hurried on to tell of what 
took place at his return. 

“ When you came back from overseas, didn’t 
his attitude change toward you a bit? ” Jane asked 
anxiously. 

“ Oh, of course, I suppose he was proud of me 
in a way. They gave a huge ball and my sister 
made me meet all her blase friends. After being 
so close to the realities, all their little affectations 
and vanities grated on me terribly. At any rate, 
after a very melodramatic scene in which my 
father offered to forget my silliness at Harvard 
and take me in as a junior partner in his tre- 
mendous exporting business, I saw that it wasn’t 
any use arguing, so I just told them good-bye and 
came to New York and got a job as reporter for 
one of the papers. Don ’t let me bore you to death, 


106 


The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

will you, Jane? Everybody likes to talk about 
himself, I suppose, and it means an awful lot to 
me to be able to talk to somebody. I am not 
whining around for sympathy, you know that, 
don’t you? ” he said quickly. “ And I don’t mean 
to run down my family, they are all right in their 
way. We just don’t hit it off.” 

“ I know,” Jane said, “ some people seem to 
get born in the wrong families and some families 
just seem to have the wrong children. But how 
did you happen to come on the ‘ Boojum ’? ” 

“ I thought that, if I got outdoors, I would be 
able to write better stuff. You see, after I had 
been writing regular newspaper things all day, 
I needed to get out and do something else at night 
besides sitting in my room and writing at stories. 
Out on the coast at home, I had always had a boat 
of some sort or other and I was crazy about the 
water. So I thought that I could make enough 
money to see me through the summer, get a chance 
to do some writing and put in an enjoyable 
healthy summer if I signed on as deck hand on 
some yacht. ‘ Boojum ’ happened to be the one. 
So far, it is the best thing that has happened to 
me.” 

“ Wasn’t it awful hard pretending that you 


The Affairs of Breck 


107 


were just a plain deck hand! When we talked 
about things you knew about, didn’t you want to 
butt in? ” 

4 4 It was harder than I dreamed it would be. I 
thought that you girls would be like my sister’s 
friends and, knowing how rich Mr. Wing was, I 
thought that he would run his yacht just as most 
of the sound yachtsmen do, as though it was some 
fragile little boat that couldn’t stand an all day 
sail, or rather that he couldn’t. When I found 
out what a peach of a bunch you all were and I 
realized what my position was, I admit I used to 
get pretty gloomy. ’ ’ 

44 What a shame, Breck, when all of us wanted 
to be nice to you, but were afraid to be because we 
couldn’t bear to have you think we were the 
patronizing sort.” 

44 It wasn’t really bad,” Breck hastened to 
assure seeing the distressed look she gave him. 
44 You see, when you girls began to get so keen 
about sailing the ship, it left me very little work 
to do on deck, so I had lots of time to put in on my 
writing. ’ ’ 

44 Is it hard living in such close quarters in the 
galley with that funny little Dutch steward ? ’ ’ 

44 It is rather interesting. He lias been every- 


108 The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

where and lias splendid tales to tell. Do you 
remember at Plymouth when you said that you 
would like to arrange the orchestration of his 
snores? That is the only real objection I have to 
him. He is the best-hearted little fellow in the 
world, so I suppose we ought to be ready to 
forgive him his only vice.” 

4 4 He is a marvelous cook, don ’t you think ? But 
look here, Breck, you are just rowing anywhere, 
we ? 11 never get to the island unless we stop talk- 
ing,” said Jane coming to the realization that for 
about half an hour they had been aimlessly drift- 
ing along, Breck occasionally dipping the copper 
tipped oars in the water from habit. 

As they drew nearer the island they saw that 
a huge crane hung out over the water and that 
there was the remains of quite a large clock. 
Several dories and a small catboat were moored 
in the little harbor. A great many lobster pots 
were slung up on the rocks that shelved above the 
beach. 

‘ ‘ It can’t be entirely deserted or I don’t sup- 
pose they would have left these perfectly good 
boats. And where there are lobsters there must 
be some lobsterers,” said Jane, a little disap- 
pointed that it wasn’t really a deserted island. 


The Affairs of Breck 


109 


“ Let’s carry it a little farther and hope that 
if the presence of the lobster pots can prove that 
there are lobsterers, then the presence of the 
lobsterers might prove some lobsters,” said Breck, 
remembering that Mabel had asked him to try and 
see if he couldn’t find some for her. 

The water near shore was so clear that they 
could see the pebbles gleaming at least ten feet 
below the surface. 

“ I wish we had one of those glass bottom boats 
that the natives row the tourists around in at 
some of the South Sea Islands,” Breck said. 

4 4 There still doesn’t seem to be any sign of 
natives on this island to row us around in even an 
oak bottomed boat. Shall we just snoop about 
and hunt for some one or shall we stand here and 
yell till some one materializes? ” Jane asked as 
she stepped out on the beach. 

At the sound of her voice, there was a slight 
movement on one of the big slabs of granite and 
a boy of about sixteen, dressed in a gray flannel 
shirt and faded dungarees, stood up. 


CHAPTER X 


HURRICANE ISLAND 

Jane went over to him, smiling in her friendly 
way. The boy slipped down from his rock with 
the grace of a wild animal. Jane thought that she 
had never seen a more beautiful and charming 
looking boy. Very tall and with a small well-set 
head, he had the unmistakable look of race. 

“ I am Jane Pellew and this is Allen Brecken- 
bridge,” said Jane with a strange little thrill as 
she realized that she had used Breck’s full name 
in the introduction. 

She stretched out her hand and it was taken 
with the greatest poise and courteousness. “ I 
am Frederick Gray,” he said, dropping her hand 
and giving Breck a cordial little nod. 

His voice had the peculiar quality of keeping 

the same tone, never rising or falling at the end 

of a sentence, and there seemed to be a definite 

spacing between each word. It did not, however, 

produce the monotonous, sing-song effect that 

Jane had so often noticed in the New Englanders ’ 

no 


Hurricane Island 111 

voices. The boy’s voice was full and rich and 
soothing. 

“ I didn’t see you until you stood up,” Jane 
told him. 

“ No wonder, my clothes are just the color of 
the rocks. I sometimes feel that I am really part 
of this island, do you know",” Frederick Gray said 
with a trace of wistfulness. “ We watched your 
yacht come in the other night. I was afraid you 
would go aw"ay without my seeing any of you. ’ ’ 

Jane wondered wdio “ we ” w r ere. She had an 
odd feeling that the boy was the only person who 
stayed on the island, for as he had said, he did 
seem such a part of it. 

Her w-onder wms short lived, for as she and 
Breck and the boy went up a narrow rocky path, 
approaching the first of the group of houses, two 
tov r -headed little boys emerged from the bushes 
and ran scuttling into the open door of the house. 

Breck called after them reassuringly, “ Hey, 
Buddies! Come back, we w 7 on’t hurt you! ” 

Frederick Gray smiled and told them that they 
were his youngest brothers and that they were 
afraid because they weren’t used to seeing any- 
body but his mother and father and his oldest 
sister. 


112 The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

“ She is away at school now, so they will prob- 
ably be afraid of her when she comes back.” 

“ What in the world is she doing away at 
school this time of the year? ” said Jane, in 
surprise. 

“ I meant college; she is at Columbia in the 
summer school,” the boy explained, adding rather 
proudly, “ I am going to New York and live with 
her this winter, because Daddy wants me to go to 
Horace Mann before I go to Yale.” 

“ You are sure you have got time to show your 
island and sure you don’t mind it,” Breck asked, 
feeling that if he were the owner of such a near 
future he would no doubt be very busy. 

“ You don’t know how glad I am to see people. 
I’m always so glad when people come on the 
island. It is really a pleasure to show them 
around. You know, of course, that this was once 
a quarry, and at one time several hundred work- 
men lived here.” 

“ We didn’t know it, but we certainly should 
have if we had given any notice to that huge crane 
and all those slabs of granite heaped up on the 
beach. The workmen, of course, lived in those 
cottages? ” asked Breck interestedly. 

“ I wish Daddy would come out and tell you 


Hurricane Island 


113 


about it, because lie knows so much more about 
it than I do, though I was a little boy when we 
first came here. There is an awful lot of machin- 
ery connected with the quarry ; I never have been 
interested in it, and so don’t know very much 
about it. Daddy knows all about every kind of 
machine. But I can’t disturb him now because 
he is working on his plans for some sort of sub- 
marine detector,” the boy told them as he led 
them past his vine-covered home towards a frame 
building about a hundred and fifty feet long and 
fifty feet wide. 

“ How did you happen to come here to live! 
You don’t mind me calling you Fred, do you? ” 
Jane asked as they entered the strangely shaped 
building. 

“ My uncle had the contract to build a sea wall 
and he knew that granite was on this island. He 
found that it would be cheaper to start a quarry 
here and carry it over to where they were build- 
ing the sea wall than it would be to have to trans- 
port it from some other point much farther away. 
After the sea wall was finished and there wasn’t 
any more use for operating the quarry, my uncle 
took his workmen and they went back to their 
regular working place. Then, you see, my uncle 


114 The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

didn’t like to leave all these houses and machinery 
without some one as a sort of overseer, and as 
Daddy likes to he quiet so he can work on his in- 
ventions, they got together and made arrange- 

% 

ments for us to come out here.” 

44 Don’t you ever get bored or lonesome,” 
Breck asked the hoy. 

44 It was more fun before my sister went away, 
of course, but there really is plenty to do. I made 
enough money off lobsters last year to buy that 
boat you passed on the way in and then, of 
course, there are an awful lot of books Daddy 
brought with us.” 

44 Breck,” said Jane, wrinkling her forehead, 
44 why couldn’t Fred sail Tim Reynolds’ boat back 
to Nantucket? ” 

Breck looked at the boy and shook his head. 
44 Too much for him to handle by himself.” 

But the boy’s face lit up at Jane’s words. 
4 4 What size is she? ” 

44 Thirty feet, Tim said, didn’t he, Jane? ” 

44 I could trim the jib aft and handle her all 
right,” the boy said with such confidence that 
Breck would have believed him if he had said he 
intended to give Thomas Lipton and his 44 Sham- 
rock IV ’ ’ time and come in ahead of him. 


Hurricane Island 


115 


“ Don’t you suppose you could get some other 
boy to go along with you, so it wouldn’t work you 
so hard? ” Jane said, rather amused by Breck’s 
rapid change of expression. 

“ Virg Bradford over on the mainland might 
go. I’ll row over and see and let you know 
tonight.” The boy was delighted at the prospect 
of a real sail. 

“ Then suppose you just come in time for sup- 
per and we can talk it over with Mr. Wing and 
Tim and £ee what they say,” said Breck, not con- 
sidering it worth while to mention consulting 
Fred’s father, as it w T as evident from the boy’s 
account of the inventor and from his own quick 
way of deciding things, that he was the man of 
the family. 

Fred walked them the length of the building, 
telling them that it was the polishing room. 

“ You look mighty tliinky,” Breck said to Jane, 
noticing that she had wrinkled up her forehead 
again. 

“ I believe it is a real thought, too, this time. 
I was just thinking that this long building might 
have been some ancient dining hall. You know the 
kind where ‘ the eagles scream in the roof trees.’ 
With all these cottages and this for a sort of mess 


116 


The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

room, I don’t see why some one couldn’t make a 
lot of money running this place as a sort of sum- 
mer colony. It has a marvelous outlook, wonder- 
ful boating, and the swimming would be all right 
I suppose if you could ever get used to such 
freezing water. How about it, Fred! ” she asked, 
turning to the boy. 

“ I go in every day and so do Mother and the 
kids. Dad too, if he thinks about it,” Fred 
answered. “ I used to think that it was an awful 
pity for those houses to be empty in the summer 
and sometimes I tried to get Dad to talk about it, 
but he always said that it wasn’t any use, because 
we had enough money and he couldn’t be quiet if 
there were a lot of summer people always about. ’ ’ 

“ Do you suppose there would be any trouble 
about renting the island from your uncle? ” Breck 
asked the boy. He had been looking around at 
the attractive cottages with growing interest and 
a decidedly ruminating eye, since Jane had sug- 
gested the possibility of a flourishing summer 
colony. Gradually the thought was taking place in 
his mind that it would be an unusual and remu- 
nerative way of spending the following spring and 
summer. The thought of himself as a rising 
young business man was amusing to him as he 


Hurricane Island 


117 


remembered his position as a deck hand on Mr. 
Wing’s yacht. Then he came to the realization 
that such a project would take some capital and he 
said a smothered “ Damn! ” 

But Jane heard it. “ What? Breck, things in 
general or some person or thing in particular? ” 
“ Me first and next my luck, then things. ’ ’ 
Then he told her what he had been thinking, add- 
ing that it would give him endless opportunity for 
copy and also unlimited time to write but, of 
course, it was a foolish impossibility. 

“ Breck, you are terribly ignorant about busi- 
ness and I don’t suppose I am much better, but 
I seem to know that there are such things as com- 
panies and, as long as I thought of it, I think I 
at least ought to have a chance to buy some stock. 
Besides let’s tell Mr. Wing about it, and when I 
get home I will talk it over with Daddy. It would 
be an awful lot of fun even if we didn’t make much 
off of it the first year. I know lots of people at 
home that are always trying to find some new 
place to spend the summer. Dad and I were won- 
dering what I was going to do with myself just- 
before I left this summer. I don’t appear to have 
been born with any special talents and I couldn’t 
bear the idea of making my debut. Of course, I 


118 


The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

couldn’t take the housekeeping over from Aunt 
Min, because that’s all she has in her life.” 

“ Weren’t born with any special talent! Why, 
Jane, you were born with the greatest talent in 
the world, that of making everybody with whom 
you come in contact love you. And you just wait 
till I can offer you a house to keep,” Breck said, 
entirely forgetting Fred. 

“ Wouldn’t these houses be enough to start 
on? ” asked Jane. “ I’m young yet and not much 
of a housekeeper.” Jane was blushing and her 
eyes had a very happy light in them. 

“ Oh, Jane! What do you mean? ” cried Breck, 
catching the girl ’s hands and drawing her towards 
him. 

‘ ‘ I simply mean that you needn ’t wait until you 
can get any more houses before — before — you 
— • before — ’ ’ 

“ Before what? ” 

“ Before you ask me to keep one for you. Now 
aren’t we modern, though? I reckon I’ve done 
the proposing, but I’m not the least embarrassed 
over it. Of course, if you had refused me, I might 
have felt a bit shy.” 

Jane’s voice was muffled by reason of the fact 
that Breck was allowing very little room for 


Hurricane Island 


119 


speech and her sentences had more punctuations 
than a mere writer can put in print. 

“ Refuse you! Oh, Jane, what a darling you 
are! I can’t believe this thing has really hap- 
pcned to me, when I think how miserable I have 
been during the last months.” 

“ Well if you doubt it you can question the wit- 
nesses,” laughed Jane. 

“ Oh, that boy Fred! ” exclaimed Breck. “ I 
forgot him.” 

But Frederick Gray had beaten a hasty retreat 
when he saw how matters were going between his 
new-found friends and had disappeared around a 
boulder, but his little tow-headed brothers were 
not so nice in their behavior. Silently they had 
entered on the love scene and had stood hand in 
hand viewing with wonder and astonishment the 
surprising carryings on of the Hurricane Island 
interlopers. 

“ Ith that girl your thweetheartf ” lisped the 
younger one. 

“ Yeth, and the thweeteth thweetheart ever,” 
declared Breck. “ Come back! ” he called to 
Frederick, whose figure he could see in the dis- 
tance. “ The worst is over, old man. That is, 
over until next time. You are going to be a mem- 


120 The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

ber of this firm, Fred, so you must come and let 
us talk it over with you.” 

“ All right, sir,” said Fred, whose ears were 
crimson from embarrassment. He looked at Breck 
with even more admiration than before. Any man 
who could win such a girl as Miss Jane Pellew was 
surely a hero in the eyes of the island boy. Fred 
was almost sorry he could not help being such a 
gentleman. When he saw how the wind lay, he 
felt it incumbent upon him to turn his back and 
walk oft but he had a pardonable curiosity about 
how a man went to work to make love to a girl 
like Jane. 

Hand in hand, Jane and Breck made their way 
to the beach. It seemed to the pair of lovers that 
the already perfect day was even more perfect 
than it had been before. The sky was bluer, the 
sea more sparkling. The “ Boojum,” riding at 
anchor in the bay, looked like a fairy ship, while 
the gulls that circled around her seemed whiter 
and more graceful than ever gulls had been before. 

“ Oh, Breck, isn’t life beautiful 1 ” said Jane, 
but in the corner of her eye was a tiny unshed tear. 
“ It is so beautiful I wish everybody knew how 
beautiful it is, all the poor little sick children and 
tired mothers.” 


Hurricane Island 


121 


“ Why, honey, I was just thinking the same 
thing. I don’t know why being happier than I’ve 
ever been in my life should make me think of the 
suffering children on the East Side, but it has 
somehow. Those gulls shouldn’t make me think 
of little half-starved children over on Avenue A. 
Heaven knows there is nothing white about them, 
except their little pinched faces, but they do all 
the same.” 

“ I know why you are thinking of them! ” ex- 
claimed Jane. “ It is because this place would 
be such a corking one to bring the kids to. Let’s 
have our scheme be not just a money making one 
but one to help somebody besides ourselves. Oh 
Breck, let’s try to have some of those little 
creatures here with us every summer.” 

“ Jane, Jane, what a girl you are! ” and Breck 
wished there weren’t so many little tow-headed 
boys on the island, for he felt he’d like to try to 
make Jane understand a little better how much he 
adored her but the little Grays were trotting along 
by their side totally unconscious of how out of 
place they were, 


CHAPTER XI 


DEBATE AND JUST TALK 

Frances, led on by Tim’s interested questions, 
had been giving that wounded young man a glow- 
ing account of the Camp Fire movement in general 
and of their own group in particular. She had 
told him of the splendid effect it had on the spirit 
of the girls at Hillside, of the wonders it had 
worked on the characters of Blanche Shirley and 
Emmeline Cerrito. 

* 4 And you have no idea how much fun we have 
had together. Even work is fun when we all work 
together. Last year, we were all down on Jane’s 
big farm in Kentucky when the harvest had just 
begun. It happened that there was an excursion 
for the negroes scheduled for the same day and 
all the hands, house servants, yard boys, stable 
boys, even down to the smallest pickaninnies on 
the place, just took temporary French leave. Mr. 
Pellew was terribly upset. You see, he had en- 
gaged the machines and everything. Anyway, 

Ellen and Mabel got busy in the kitchen and 

122 


Debate and Just Talk 


123 


cooked for simply rafts of people, the rest of us 
went out in the fields with Jack and Mr. Pellew and 
he said that we worked just as well as the men and 
that we were lots more conscientious.” Frances 
said this with a rather defiant air, because she had 
often found that the young men of her acquaint- 
ance were inclined to doubt female prowess in any 
line other than fancy sewing. 

“ You sound like a dandy bunch of girls. No 
one could realize that fact more keenly than I. But 
don’t you think it is rather unusual for girls to be 
as capable as that? And don’t you suppose the 
novelty of the affair had a great deal to do with 
the girl’s conscientiousness? ” Seeing Frances’ 
indignant expression, Tim hastened to add, “ I am 
not stating this as facts. Like Will Irwin’s 
Japanese school boy, 4 I ask to know’.” 

“ All right, then,” said Frances, relenting at 
his meek tones, “ if you come to the discussion 
with an humble open mind, I’ll continue to be pro, 
and after I have finished I’ll listen to your con.” 

“ Like a lamb to the slaughter,” announced 
Tim, folding his brown arms over his chest. 4 ‘ I’m 
ready. The battle may begin. ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ Heavens ! you have me all confused now. How 
am I to know whether you are going to listen like 


124 The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

a meek lamb or whether you have entered the 
ranks, arrayed in glittering armor, ready to fight 
to the death. Don’t be so contradictory in your 
statements.” 

1 1 I crave your indulgence for my mixed 
metaphors. In the crude parlance of these mod- 
ern times, ‘ shoot said Tim. 

“ Eesolved: that the female of the species can 
do as much work as the male and do it in almost 
as many branches as the aforesaid male. Two 
cousins of mine were with the Yassar College farm 
unit for twelve weeks, summer before last, and at 
the end of the twelve weeks, the head of the farm- 
erettes mailed out questionnaires to the different 
men who had employed the girls as farm hands 
during the summer. These questionnaires asked 

the farmers if the girls were equal to the men as 

« 

to strength, interest, conscientiousness and so on. 
All of the farmers answered that they were per- 
fectly able to do all the work that had been set 
them to do, and that they had been given the work 
of the men that were overseas, and that they had 
accomplished it well ; and, further, that they 
showed a quickness in learning that the men did 
not, and that they were more interested in their 
work, and far more conscientious than the men 


Debate and Just Talk 


125 


they had formerly employed. When asked if they 
would consider employing the Vassar girls at an- 
other time, all the men who had employed the girls 
said that most assuredly they would/ ’ and 
Frances stopped rather out of breath hut smiling 
triumphantly at her adversary. u We will now 
hear the other side. ’ ’ 

“ Madame, I have the honor to announce that 
your worthy opponent is absolutely convinced and 
begs your forgiveness for his former unbelief. 
There will be no rebuttal, ladies and gentlemen/ ’ 
said Tim with a grin at a make-believe audience. 

He looked at Frances in open admiration, for 
the vivid pink that the excitement of a chance 
argument always brought had flushed her cheeks 
and her gray eyes sparkled with amusement at his 
defeat. 

Just then there was a thud on deck and Mabel’s 
cheery voice called to find out how the patient was 
getting along. After making the tender fast to 
the boat boom, Jack and Ellen and Mabel and 
Charlie, followed by Mr. Wing, came down into 
the little saloon to tell Tim that the telegram 
assuring his family of his safety had been duly 
sent. 

‘ ‘ The girls insisted on our bringing you candy 


126 


The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

and magazines, but I have a lmncli that it wasn ’t 
you alone they had in view, ’ ’ said J ack, unloading 
himself of many bundles. 

“ But I knew you would want something to 
smoke, so I brought along a couple of cartons of 
Piedmonts. I hope that it is what you use,” said 
Charlie with the complacency of one who has done 
well. 

“ Speaking of unselfish devotion,” Ellen spoke 
up in defense of herself and Mabel, “ who likes 
Piedmonts more than our own dear Charlie? ” 

Frances jumped up, grabbed Ellen’s arm and 
lifted it high over her head and in her best referee 
manner began, “ One, two, three, four, five — ” 

Tim raised a protesting hand, “ I’ll report the 
match to the authorities, as not one word w T as 
said about the ‘ gentlemen being members of this 
club.’ ” 

11 What in the world is society coming to, when 
its younger members of both sexes are so familiar 
with the expressions of the boxing ring? ” Mr. 
Wing asked. 

“ Oh, Daddy, Daddy! As if you don’t go to 
every fight that comes off, not to speak of the 
wrestling matches! Who was it I heard saying 


Debate and Just Talk 


127 


to Breck not long ago that he would 6 lay five to 
one ’ on Dempsey in the Willard-Dempsey fight? ” 
and, withering before Mabel’s onslaught, Mr. 
Wing retreated up the companion. 

“ Listen to this,” said Jack, who had been run- 
ning through the magazines while the bout was 
going on, “ It’s called ‘ Sails 

“ If he had seen 
A barkentine 

Beating off a blowy head, ‘ 

Or, all a-sheen, 

A brigantine 

Running free by trade-wind sped, 

How could Fulton have dared to dream 
Of steam! ” 

“ That’s rather nice,” Tim said as Jack fin- 
ished the little verse, “ and it’s just the way I 
feel. Wouldn’t it have been fine if there wasn’t 
any machinery and we could all have gone on liv- 
ing in the woods, in leopard skins — I rather 
fancy myself in a leopard skin — ” 

“ You are just the person to make the most fuss 
if your train happens to be the least bit late,” 
Frances broke in on him. 

“ And sail around all summer in a fast little 
yacht,” Tim went on, with a grin at Frances. 


128 The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

“ Then about the first of October eat enough to 
last you until spring and crawl into your little cave 
and sleep till warm weather.’ ’ 

“ What a pretty picture,” laughed Mabel. 
“ Glimpse Tim, draped in leopard’s skin, nimbly 
going up the shrouds, with a telescope, develop- 
ment of the modern time, to sit in the crosstree 
and watch the races in the sound.” 

“ People always imagine that whatever time 
they live in is the very worst time, and, as for 
clothes, what could be more uncomfortable than 
a leopard’s skin. It would always be getting in 
the soup or something,” objected Jack. 

“ You would hardly have to worry about soup 
in connection with a leopard’s skin. What you 
would probably do would be skip along the shore 
and hunt for mussels or hide behind the bushes and 
jump out on a frightened little pig and sit down 
on your haunches and devour him raw,” decided 
Prances. 

“ Consider the bristles,” shuddered Ellen. 

“ Dinghy abaft our stern, sirs,” announced Mr. 
W T ing to the little group in the saloon. 

The dinghy slipped up to the “ Boojum ” and 
Jane went down to join her friends in the saloon. 


Debate and Just Talk 


129 


Breck, after making fast the dinghy, went forward 
to the galley. It had been decided between them 
that it would be better not to say anything about 
their plans until after Frederick Gray made his 
appearance and the subject of Tim’s boat had been 
settled, then J ane had planned to talk to Mr. Wing 
about the feasibility of turning Hurricane Island 
into a summer resort. As to their proposed part- 
nership, that could wait. In the meantime it was 
nobody’s business but theirs. 

“ How ’bout my little boat? ” Tim demanded 
with such a motherly expression that they all 
laughed. 

“ Bight as rain,” Jane assured him. “ And, 
Oh! Tim, she is a darling, isn’t she? Breck and 
I snugged ship for you and we have got a boy 
coming over tonight to see you about taking her 
back to Nantucket for you. ‘ Sabrina ’ is a lovely 
name for her too.” 

” What sort of boy, Plain Jane? ” inquired Mr. 
Wing. 

“ A perfect peach of a boy. Breck and I went 
bats about him. In the first place, he is a dream 
to look at — ” 

“ Something more substantial than a dream is 
going to take my ‘ Sabrina ’ home,” said Tim. 


130 The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

44 Beautiful people have sense sometimes, Tim. 
Anyhow, he is coming over tonight and you can 
see for yourself. He is plenty big and strong 
enough to handle her if he is able to get a friend 
of his to go along with him. He is awfully inter- 
esting and well read and made me feel awfully 
ashamed because he didn’t use one drop of slang 
the entire time we talked to him, and it must have 
been at least three hours. His father is an in- 
ventor. His name is Frederick Gray and I asked 
him to come to supper. You don’t mind, do you, 
Skipper? ” Jane appealed to Mr. Wing. 

44 What about the island — you haven’t said a 
word about it? ” asked Jack. 

44 Heavens, don’t get me started on the island. 
I don’t ever want to stop talking about it. We, I 
mean I’ve got the most wonderful plan, but I am 
not going to talk about it till Fred comes over 
tonight,” Jane put them off. 

44 What about my lobsters? ” demanded Mabel. 

44 We brought you back a whole dinghy full of 
them. The steward is getting them out now. Fred 
gave them to us.” 

44 I have changed my mind about Fred, then,” 
said Tim. 44 I am that fond of lobsters.” 

4 4 Anybody in his right mind would have to like 


Debate and Just Talk 


131 


Fred. But wait till you see him. In the mean- 
time, how long before lunch! I am simply 
starved! ” and Jane pounced on the candy. 


CHAPTER XII 


BROTHER AND SISTER 

After lunch, Jane, pleading sleepiness, crawled 
into the port bunk in the saloon and drew the tan 
curtains. People are apt to respect a feigned 
desire for sleep far more than a genuine desire for 
thoughtful solitude and she wanted to think over 
the events of the morning. 

She believed that she owed it to Jack to tell him 
of her engagement to Breck and yet she felt a 
strange hesitancy, for as much as she adored her 
brother, she knew that he would neither under- 
stand nor approve of her marrying the quixotic 
deck hand. The fact that he was a Breckenridge 
would not alter the case in the least for her 
brother. Jack was one of those steady, easy-going 
young men with a kind but peculiarly unsocial out- 
look. Jane knew that he would have a slight feel- 
ing of contempt for a man who had offered him- 
self in marriage to a girl whom he could neither 
support in the fabled “ manner she was accus- 
tomed to ” nor yet offer a stable income to her. 

132 


Brother and Sister 


133 


He would look on the Hurricane Island project as 
the wildest of wild ideas. The nomadic life she 
would probably share with Breck would have no 
appeal to the ease-loving young Kentuckian. His 
dream of perfect happiness was their lovely old 
home with Ellen as its mistress and long evenings 
spent together by the oi3en fire. Jane realized 
that her brother was a typical “ country gentle- 
man ” of the last century with a few modern 
touches in the way of slang. Nor did the differ- 
ences in their character make her devotion to him 
any less, but it did make her rather dread the 
interview she had planned to have with him just- 
before it was time for Frederick Gray to make his 
appearance. Of her father’s attitude in the mat- 
ter, she had no fear. He was of the opinion that 
whatever his children did was right. Aunt Min 
was radically opposed to any new idea, but when 
the novelty of a situation had worn oft she 
softened. 

“ It may be up-hill work but Breck and I are 
strong enough to see it through,” Jane decided. 
“ The worst part will be talking to Jack. I will 
never convince him of the fact that I had even 
more to do with it than Breck did. ’ ’ 

“ Jane has been asleep long enough. I’m going 


134 


The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

down and make her go swimming in this icy water 
with me.” 

Frances left the others on deck and went down 
into the saloon. She jerked hack the curtains to 
find Jane with her knees drawn up under her chin, 
her hands clasped around her ankles. 

4 ‘ What a graceful position to sleep in, J ane. I 
do hope you had a good nap.” 

“ As long as I am caught, I will admit that I 
withdrew into this shell to solve the problems of 
the universe, which being successfully solved, I 
want very much to go swimming,” Jane said, 
undoubling and emerging from her retreat. 

Frances looked at her friend rather quizzically. 
“ But it’s so unlike our Plain Jane to have prob- 
lems. Is there anything that I can do? I mean 
in the way of solving? I’m rather eager to try 
that new position in thinking. ’ ’ 

“ It was a very trying experience for me — that 
thinking — but, having come to the world-shaking 
conclusion that the only thing to do in a case like 
this is to do what you think is right, especially 
when what you think is right is what you want to 
do, I am not going to worry any more,” said Jane, 
catching the bathing suit Frances flung at her. 

“ What a wise but completely unintelligible 


Brother and Sister 


135 


Jane it is! But I suppose I must just abide my 
time and, finally, the secret will be revealed to 
your humble and admiring slave. Ah, well, I 
can wait if I have to. But let me say that I 
have suspected it ever since the night you asked 
me if I knew whether Breck had his slicker on 
or not,” said Frances solemnly. 

“ What in the world are you talking about? ” 

“ Don’t you remember that night at Plymouth, 
when you went up in the graveyard by yourself, 
and when you came back I said you looked like 
you had had one million adventures? Well, when 
we returned to the boat it started raining, don’t 
you remember? And Mr. Wing and Breck went 
up on deck to see something about that intermi- 
nable old anchor. I was just about asleep and you 
woke me up asking me if I knew whether Bicck 
had a raincoat or not. 4 There is something 
strange about this,’ sez I to mesell, sez I, and I 
have been a quiet but interested observer evei 

since.” 

“ You are a darling, Frances, and the world 
lost a great detective when we Camp Fire Girls 
made such a good friend,” and Jane gave her hand 

an affectionate little pat. 

< < Tell me all about it when you feel like it, ’ ’ and, 


136 The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

with Jane’s promise to do so soon, they went up 
on deck. 

“ You lazy ones put on your bathing suits and 
let’s take the tender and go over and see Tim’s 
boat. We can swim from the beach. I feel like 
the water won’t be so cold where it’s shallower,” 
Frances suggested. 

The others, having heard Jane’s glowing 
account of the “ Sabrina,” readily agreed. Soon 
they were off, leaving Breck, Mr. Wing and Tim 
to make Frederick Gray feel at home if he should 
come before the others got back, though, as Jane 
said, Fred had enough poise to carry off almost 
any situation. 

There was a stretch of sandy beach, flanked by 
gray boulders, near the “ Sabrina’s ” anchorage, 
and after inspecting Tim’s beautiful little boat 
they all went ashore. 

Jane whispered to Jack that she wanted to talk 
to him for a few minutes and they went over to 
one of the sunbaked rocks, while the rest of the 
crowd stood ankle deep in the cold water, trying 
to force themselves into it. 

“ I’ll never get into it by degrees,” Frances 
shivered, as sl^ took three or four tentative 
steps. “ Come on, Mabel, I believe the water 


Brother and Sister 


137 


around that farthest rock will be deep enough to 
make a shallow drive.” 

Jack looked at Jane with surprise. “ What is 
it? ” he asked. 

“ What do you think of Breck? ” 

“ All this mystery to know what I think of 
Breck? ” Jack was amused. “ Why, I suppose he 
is all right. Never paid ipucli attention to him. 
Seems a bit sullen to me. I don’t reckon I’ve said 
two words to him since I have been on board.” 
Jack’s eyes followed Ellen’s little figure as it ran 
bravely out into the chilly water, hesitated a sec- 
ond, made a rather poor surface dive and began 
swimming shoreward with very irregular and 
splashy strokes. 

“ It is funny Ellen can’t learn to swim,” Jane 
said as she, too, watched her friend’s efforts. 

“ I think she does remarkably well,” Jack said 
quickly. “ But what made you ask me what I 
thought of Breck? ” 

‘ ‘ I simply wanted to know your opinion of your 
prospective brother-in-law.” 

For a minute Jack looked at her blankly, then 
laughed as if what his sister said was a huge joke. 

“I am serious, Jack dear, I intend to marry 
Breck when we get back to New York and will 


138 The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

write Daddy to that effect tonight/ ’ Jane spoke 
calmly but with convincing assurance. 

“ It is preposterous/’ Jack said hotly. ‘ ‘ It is 
ridiculous to discuss it. Of course, Daddy will 
forbid it. If you insist, he won’t give you any 
money and, of course, you could hardly live on a 
deck hand’s salary. Besides, what would a deck 
hand do for a living in the winter? ” 

Jane smiled a little at Jack’s ideas about money. 
“ Daddy won’t say a word in the first place, and 
you seem to have forgotten that the money mother 
left me would allow me to live very comfortably 
in the second place, and Breck isn’t a deck hand 
in the third place. Didn’t you hear what he said 
when he set Tim’s leg? ” 

“ No, I was out in the tender, but anybody that 
has knocked around can set a leg.” 

“ What are your objections to him besides his 
lack of money? ” Jane said a little contemptu- 
ously. 

1 1 A Pellew would hardly marry — ’ ’ 

11 Oh, Jack dear, don’t say it, please,” Jane in- 
terrupted him, “ it would sound so stupid and 
snobbish. It is only fair to tell you that his full 
name is Allen Breckenridge, you know the ones 
that live in California, and he went to Harvard 


Brother and Sister 139 

and studied medicine. Then he had a fuss with 
his father and broke with him. He went with a 
French ambulance unit in the war. When he came 
back, he went on a newspaper and, this summer, 
he signed up with Mr. Wing because he wanted 
time to write and yet he needed money to live on 
while doing so. The ‘ Boojum ’ solved the prob- 
lem. Jack, don’t you see what a peach he is? ” 

Jack admitted that B reek’s being a Brecken- 
ridge altered things somewhat. But he remained 
firm in his belief that the affair was an impossible 
one. 

“ But, Jack dear, you mustn’t change your 
opinion of him just because he is from one of those 
terrible things known as a ‘ good family ’ — as 
far as that goes, I think it is a terrible family and 
they have behaved abominably to him. I want 
you to like him because he is a fine, interesting 
man,” Jane pleaded. She was constantly given 
opportunities to regret that her brother was not 
as open-minded as she was. 

“ Jane, please believe that your happiness is 
my chief concern. What you have told me of him 
seems to me condemning. I see him as an im- 
pulsive, unstable person, inclined to drifting.” 

“ I know that you think I am an incurable 


140 


The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

romantic and that I see him in a sort of glamour. 
I don’t. I have been with him a lot and we have 
had long talks. I love him terribly, but I realize 
he has the usual quota of faults. What he needs 
is a steady hand on the reins and, Jack, you know 
my hand is fairly reliable. You respect my judg- 
ment of horses, why won’t you respect my judg- 
ment of husbands ? Of course, what you have said, 
what you will say, can’t affect me in the least, but 
I do wish you would wish me happiness and say 

that you will try to like Breck,” finished Jane. 

\ 

Jack sat silent for a while, his head in his 
cupped hands, finally he said, “ Forgive me. I 
was a rotter to say what I did about Breck ’s being 
a deck hand. I will like him and try to make him 
like me. You are a great little sister and Breck 
is a mighty lucky man. ’ ’ 

A victory so far, thought Jane, and decided to 
spare Jack the Hurricane Island project till Fred 
came. “ You are rather a darling, Jack,” she 
said, u and I think Ellen will be a splendid swim- 
mer soon. Run along down to her now and help 
her with that scissors kick.” 


CHAPTER XIII 


JACK *S AFTER-SUPPER SPEECH 

After the swim, Jane had had a long conversa- 
tion with Mr. Wing, with the result that a place 
was set for Breck at the table in the saloon. Pur- 
ple wildflowers, picked on the island and thrust 
into a low bowl, stood in the center of the table 
and gave a gala air to the saloon. Ellen had 
arranged them and said to Mabel that she had 
not realized how much she missed flowers till she 
saw these. 

Jane and Breck watched for Frederick Gray on 
deck, both of them feeling shy and self-conscious. 
Finally, his dory slid up alongside the “ Boojum ” 
and the boy, in immaculate white ducks, was soon 
standing beside his new friends. 

“ Everybody is down in the saloon. Let’s go 
down and get the introductions over,” Jane said, 
leading the way. 

Frederick Gray had been looking forward all 
day to the little supper party. Breck and Jane 
had delighted him with their warm friendliness in 

141 


142 The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

the morning and he was anxious to see if their 
friends were as charming as they were. It was 
a rare treat to the boy to mix with his own kind. 
His father could find little time to spare to his 
son, so engrossed was he in his inventions, and 
the younger children, of course, kept his mother 
very busy. She did all the work, as the isolation 
of Hurricane Island made the servant question 
impossible. Since his sister’s departure for 
Columbia, he had been far lonelier than he cared 
to admit. In fact, he had not realized how alone 
he was till he saw this group of natural, kindly 
people. 

4 4 Heading from the left to the right, first row 
standing are my brother, Jack Pellew, Ellen 
Birch, and Mr. Wing. Seated, are Frances Bliss, 
Charlie Preston and Mabel Wing. The gentleman 
lying down is Tim Reynolds and it is his boat 
that we want you to take back to Nantucket,” Jane 
said in oratorical tones, 44 and all you aforemen- 
tioned, this is my friend Frederick Gray.” 

“ Mr. Wing,” Fred said, going forward to 
shake hands with him, 4 4 it is very kind indeed of 
you to let me be with you tonight. I haven ’t seen 
so many new people at one time for years.” 

44 It is great for us to have you with us,” Mr. 


Jack’s After-Supper Speech 143 

Wing said. “ We were beginning to need a little 
new blood, and your coming and Tim’s coming 
just started things nicely rolling again.’ ’ 

Fred could not but feel at home at once with the 
cordial welcome he had received and he soon 
found himself seated by Tim talking of the trip 
he was to make with the “ Sabrina.” He told 
Tim that Virg Bradford had consented to go with 
him and then he was so eloquent in his praise of 
the little “ Sabrina ” that Tim immediately de- 
cided his pet would be perfectly safe in such ap- 
preciative hands. So the few minutes before sup- 
per passed very quickly for Fred and Tim. But 
they rather dragged for Jane and Breck, for they 
felt, as Jane put it, “ on pins and needles,” till 
they knew how everybody would take it. 

The little Dutch steward came in with delicious 
pea puree and the little party fell to with a right 
good will. The lobsters that Breck and Jane 
brought back from Hurricane Island formed the 
special dish of the meal and were prepared with 
an interesting sauce of vinegar and butter that 
the steward claimed as his own receipt. With the 
coffee, Jack rose and announced that he had some- 
thing to say. 

“ But we don’t want any after-dinner 


144 


The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

speeches/ ’ objected Mabel, 44 besides this is a 
supper and who ever heard of after-supper 
speeches? Fred is the guest of honor, and he 
ought to be the one to speak if anybody has to.” 

44 You have but to hear me and I know you will 
think I was justified in speaking. I’ll make it 
short and snappy,” Jack promised Mabel, 44 for 
I know you want to talk yourself. ’ ’ 

44 Jack, you’re horrid. Shut up and begin,” 
Mabel commanded. 

44 Don’t give such confusing orders, daughter,” 
Mr. Wing said. 44 Go on, Jack, I am awfully 
interested and will keep my daughter quiet if I 
have to gag her.” 

44 Well, it’s this,” Jack began. 44 In the first 
place, I haven’t the faintest idea how a thing like 
this ought to be done — ’ ’ 

44 And we know, of course, that you didn’t ex- 
pect to be called on at this meeting,” Charlie inter- 
rupted him. 

44 But the fact is,” Jack ignored him, 44 that I 
want to announce the engagement of my sister, 
Jane Pellew, to Allen Breckenridge,” and, quite 
overcome, Jack sat down. 

Everybody was perfectly silent until Frances 
threw herself into the breach and saved the situa- 


Jack’s After-Supper Speech 145 

tion by saying, “ Sloan ’s liniment — 4 Don’t rub, 
let it penetrate ’ — Jack, you did it so suddenly 
you simply took our breaths away. I bid to be 
first to congratulate both the contracting parties,’ ’ 
and she jumped up and ran around to Jane and 
hugged her and gave Breck’s hand a cordial 
squeeze. 

Frances’ quickness galvanized the little party 
into life and all the girls kissed Jane repeatedly 
and the men wrung Breck’s hand again and again. 
Then the questions began, 44 When did it hap- 
pen? ” 44 Isn’t it awfully sudden? ” 44 Wasn’t 

Jack funny? ” 44 You didn’t know he was going 
to do it, did you, Jane dear? ” 

And Jane was infinitely grateful to Jack for the 
part he played because he couldn’t have acknowl- 
edged Breck in a more sincere and gracious 
manner. 

44 Why, Breck,” teased Mr. Wing, 44 I believe 
you are quite used to having announcements of 
this kind made about you. You are behaving like 
a professional fiance.” 

44 I am scared to death, really,” Breck admitted 
with a grin, 44 but I have been under fire enough 
to have learned not to let my knees shake vis- 
ibly. ’ ’ 


146 


The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

‘ ‘ And I want to tell you right now, that I think 
that plan of yours and Jane’s to run Hurricane 
Island as a summer colony is good and I hope 
and believe that you will make a good thing of 
it. You can count on me to talk it up because I 
want my stock in the company to bring in big 
returns,” Mr. Wing said, shaking Breek’s hand 
once more. 

Afterwards, Breck told Jane that he felt like 
the President of the United States at his inaugu- 
ration, his hand had been pumped up and down 
so much. Jane had laughed and said that she 
herself felt like Joffre must have after nearly all 
the school children in the country had proudly 
kissed him. 

“ Why not have some of these husky males 
carry Tim up on deck? ” suggested Frances, “ I 
don’t believe it will be too cold. Anyway, there 
is a wonderful moon and Jack can take his banjo 
up and sing to us.” 

Her plan was approved and Tim was carefully 
carried up and deposited on the deck mattress, 
while the rest sat around on pillows. Jack came 
up with his banjo and started thrumming. 

“ What shall it be? ” he asked. “ It is no use 
you saying, though, because I don’t know anything 


Jack’s After-Supper Speech 147 

but the darky songs I have picked up at home. ’ ’ 

“ As if they weren’t the most tuneful songs in 
the world ! ’ ’ Ellen added. 

“ Why not sing that Revival Hymn, Jack 
dear? ” asked Jane. 

And Jack began: 

“ Oh, whar shill we go w’en de great day 
comes, 

Wid de blowin’ or de trumpets en de 
bangin’ er de drums? 

How many po’ sinners ’ll be kotched out 
late 

En fine no latch ter de golden gate? 

No use fer ter wait twel termorrer! 

* De sun mus’n’t set on yo’ sorrer, 

Sin’s es sharp ez a bamboo-brier — 

Oh, Lord ! fetch the mo ’ners up higher ! 

W’en de nashuns er de earf is a-stan’in’ all 
aroun’, 

Who’s a gwine ter be choosen fer ter w’ar de 
glory-crown ? 

Who’s gwine fer ter stan’ stiff -kneed en bol’, 

En answer to der name at de callin’ er de 
roll? 

You better come now ef you cornin’ — 

Ole Satun is loose en a bummin’ — 


148 The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

De wheels er distruckshun is a hum- 
min ’ — 

Oh, come ’long, sinner, ef you cornin’! 

De song er salvashun is a mighty sweet 
song, 

En de Pairidise win’ blow fur en blow 
strong, 

En Aberham’s bosom, hit’s saft en hit’s 
wide, 

En right dar’s de place whar de sinners 
oughter hide! 

Oh, you nee’nter be a stoppin’ en a 
lookin’; 

Ef you fool wid ole Satun you’ll get 
took in, 

You’ll hang on de aidge en get shook in, 

Ef you keep on a stoppin’ en a lookin’. 

De time is right now, en dish yer’s de place — 

Let de sun er salvashun shine squar’ in yo’ 
face; 

Fight de battles er de Lord, fight soon en 
fight late, 

En you’ll allers fine a latch ter de golden 
gate. 


No use fer ter ivait twel ter-morrer, 
De sun mustn’t set on yo’ sorrer — 


Jack’s After-Supper Speech 149 

Sin’s es sharp ez a bamboo-brier — 

Ax de Lord fer ter fetch you up higher ! ” 

Jack had sung the old song delightfully, with 
the colorful wails of the darky and deserved the 
thanks and applause he got for singing it. He 
refused to sing any more, saying he wanted to 
smoke. 

44 I’ll sing you one,” volunteered Charlie im- 
modestly. 

44 Oh, Charlie, haven’t you any shame? ” gig- 
gled Mabel. 44 I never in all my life heard of any 
one suggesting singing or playing himself. It 
just isn’t the thing. You are supposed to blush 
furiously and shake your head the first time you 
are asked. Of course, you are asked again, then 
you say that you haven’t got your music or you 
aren’t in voice or your hands are chapped. On 
the third request, you allow yourself to be dragged 
unwillingly to the piano or the center of the room, 
according to your talent. And here you blatantly 
nominate yourself. I blush for you, I blush for 
you. ’ ’ 

44 Don’t pay any attention to her, Charlie,” 
urged Frances. 44 I didn’t know singing was 
among your accomplishments. While I tremble 


150 


The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

at the result, we are all brave souls and most 
humbly I beseech you sing.” 

44 I may not be a Caruso or a Martinelli, but I 
do know some plantation songs, just as everybody 
below the Mason-Dixon line does, and coupled 
with the three cords I know on the banjo I can give 
a very creditable performance. Am I among 
friends? ” 

With a flourish of the banjo and a reckless ex- 
penditure of his three cords, Charlie began in an 
effectively low voice: 

4 4 De gray owl sing f um de chimbly top : 

4 Who-who-is-you-oo? ’ 

En I say: 4 Good Lawd, hit’s des po’ me, 

En I ain’t quite ready fer de Jasper Sea; 

I’m po’ en sinful, en you ’lowed I’d be; 

Oh, wait, good Lawd, ’twell termorrer! ’ 

De gray owl sing fum de cypress tree : 

4 Who-who-is-you-oo? ’ 

En I say: 4 Good Lawd, ef you look you’ll see 
Hit ain’t nobody but des po’ me, 

En I like ter stay ’twell my time is free; 

Oh, wait, good Lawd, ’twell termorrer! ’ ” 

44 I take it all back, Charlie,” offered Mabel, 
44 I liked that a lot.” 


Jack’s After-Supper Speech 151 

Fred said a regretful good-bye and, with a 
promise that he an^ Virg would weigh the anchor 
of the “ Sabrina ; the minute the “ Boojum ” 
signaled, he dropped over the side into his dory 
and rowed slowly over the moon-lit vrater to the 
silent Hurricane Island. 


CHAPTER XIV 


TIM *S FATHER 

The “ Boojum ” and the little “ Sabrina ” 
dropped anchor in the harbor at Nantucket Island 
almost at the same time. They found themselves 
in the midst of a fleet of trig catboats, yawls and 
splendid motor yachts. Every male in the island 
is said to have some sort of boat, and the catboat 
seemed to be the choice of the majority. There is 
a stretch of land-locked water reaching along one 
side of the island, and here, every day, are to be 
seen races between the many catboats. 

Boat after boat slid in, found its mooring, and 
emptied itself of its gay-sweatered, picnicking 
crowd. The boats were so packed and wedged in 
that the “ Boojum ’s ” people began to wonder 
how they could pick their way into shore with the 
tender. 

Suddenly a speed boat shot out from the land- 
ing in front of the ciub house and with marvelous 
skill threaded its way among the moored boats. 
As it approached the “ Boojum, ” a tall gray- 


Tim’s Father 


153 


haired man, who was standing at the wheel, raised 
one hand and waved it at the group on the 
“ Boojum’s ” deck. 

“ Why, he seems to be coming up alongside,” 
Mr. Wing said in surprise. 

“ Ahoy on board the 4 Boojum! ’ ” boomed the 
man’s deep voice. 

“ Come aboard,” invited Mr. Wing with a cor- 
dial smile and a bewildered voice. 

“ It’s Tim’s father, of course,” said Frances, 
springing forward to greet him. “ They look 
exactly alike. Jane, run down into the saloon and 
tell Tim his daddy is here.” 

But Mr. Reynolds, with a Tim-like grin that in- 
cluded them all in its heartiness, said : 

“ Please, young lady, let me go see my boy. 
I’ll be up in a second and thank all of you for 
your kindness.” 

He had disappeared down the companionway 
before Frances got her breath, Mr. Wing follow- 
ing and the rest of the crew close on the heels of 
their captain. 

Some persons think it is an amusing thing to 
see two men kiss, but no one wxmld have been 
amused to see the gray-haired Mr. Reynolds take 
his red-haired son in his arms and kiss him first 


154 The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

on one cheek, then on the other. Tim seemed to 
like it and not to be a bit abashed. 

“ How’s mother? ” he asked as soon as he 
emerged from the bear’s hug his father was giving 
him. 

‘ ‘ In an awful stew about you ! When you didn ’t 
come home that night, she threw a few fits and 
then, when there was no word from you, she threw 
a few more. The telegram that finally arrived 
only assured her you were as well as might be 
•expected with a broken leg. Now she is having 
an awful time because the telegram didn’t say 
which leg.” 

“ Poor little Mumsy! It’s the left one, but 
since I don’t write or shave with my toes it 
doesn’t really make much difference.” 

Then Tim introduced his father to the captain 
and the crew and the elder Reynolds by his hearti- 
ness and honest gratitude soon began to run his 
son a close race in their admiration and affection. 
It doesn’t take many hours on ship board for peo- 
ple to become very well acquainted and, already, 
the inmates of the u Boojum ” had begun to feel 
that Tim Reynolds was a life-long friend. 

“ And these two slips of girls carried you down 
that rocky hill all by themselves? I don’t believe 


Tim’s Father 


155 


it ! Let me feel your muscle ! ’ ’ said Mr. Reynolds, 
putting his hand around Frances’ biceps. 

“ Jimminv crickets! As hard as steel! Now 

•/ 

where did you get your stretcher? Tell me all 
about it, every detail. My wife is sure to want 
to know everything that can be told. You say Tim 
was unconscious most of the time? ” 

“ Yes, sir,” answered Frances, who, having 
been the one to find Tim, was tacitly understood 
to be the one to answer for him. “ Either uncon- 
cious or light-headed, but his head was the only 
thing that was light, I can assure you. He said 
he hadn’t eaten anything for a day and a night, 
but he must have been breathing heavily all the 
time because he certainly hadn’t lost any weight.” 

Then she had to tell him how she and Jane made 
a stretcher with their skirts and the oars. Here 
he interrupted: 

‘ ‘ What kind of skirts ? Tell me what kind and 
what color. The boy ’s mother will worry my soul 
out of me if I don ’t find out what kind and what 
color.” 

“ Just plain khaki, Camp Fire Girls’ skirts! 99 
laughed Frances. “ The kind we are wearing 
now, but we must change them soon, as we always 
dress up a bit when we go ashore.” 


156 


The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

“ But, my dear young lady, please don’t! I 
beg of you don’t change your skirts.” 

Mr. Reynolds’ request was such a strange one 
the girls could not help laughing. His manner was 
earnest, but in his eyes there was a regular Tim 
twinkle. 

“ But why not? ” insisted Frances. 

f 

“ It is this way: you see, of course, when you 
go ashore it must be to our home, and I can tell 
you if you don’t wear those skirts out of which 
the stretcher was made that carried our Tim, his 
mother will never cease bewailing, to say nothing 
of Cousin Esther. Of course, you can tie them up 
in a bundle and let me carry them ashore, but 
ashore they must go. Am I not right, Tim? ” 

“ Well, Mother is right fond of detail and as 
for Cousin Esther — ” confessed Tim. “ If you 
girls don’t mind — ” 

“ Mind! Of course we don’t mind,” put in 
Jane. “ The only thing Frances and I don’t like 
about going ashore is having to doll up. We’ll 
even carry Tim ashore as we carried him down 
the hill if that would help any.” 

“ Not me! ” cried Tim. u I’ll never cease to 
be grateful to you for carrying me as you did, 
but, remember, I am not unconscious now and 


Tim’s Father 


157 


rny leg has been set. I’m afraid you’ll jiggle it 
out of place. I bid for Breck and Jack to do the 
carrying this time.” 

“ We certainly will,” said Breck heartily, 
while Jack gave Tim a reassuring pat on his 
shoulder. “ I think, Mr. Reynolds,” continued 
Breck, “ you had better send for a surgeon as 
soon as you get your son home. I am little more 
than an amateur and think an expert should pass 
on my manner of setting bones.” 

” Certainly, young man, although I am sure 
you made a good job of it. What my boy would 
have done without your skill I tremble to con- 
template. Tell me — I think Mr. Wing said your 
name was Allen Breckenridge — are you related 
to Preston Breckenridge of California? ” 

“ My father, sir! ” and B reek’s face flushed. 

“ Well now, isn’t that too bad? Not that you 
are related to Preston Breckenridge, but that 
you have come into port just too late to see your 
father. His yacht has been anchored here for 
several days, but they set sail only this morn- 
ing. I’ve no idea where they were going. Didn’t 
know they were going at all. Meant to see them 
again. Quite a party. You perhaps know where 
they are going? ” 




158 


The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

“ No, sir, I do not know,” answered Breck, the 
flush deepening on his countenance. “ I thought 
they were still on the Pacific coast.” 

u Well, well! California people don’t think 
a thing of stepping across the continent,” de- 
clared Mr. Reynolds, suddenly realizing that he 
had rather put his foot in it and the good looking 
young man who had been so nice about setting his 
son’s leg was evidently not on very good terms 
with his family. 

While the general bustle was in process inci- 
dent to going ashore and getting the broken- 
boned Tim ready to be carried off, Breck had 
time to whisper to Jane: 

“ You heard what Mr. Reynolds said about my 
father’s being in these waters? ” 

“ Yes, I heard. Aren’t you going to try to 
find out where he is? Do you think the rest of 
your family is along? He said a large party.” 

“ There is no telling. Gee, I’m glad I wasn’t 
one of them! I’d rather swab the ‘ Boo jura’s ’ 
decks, even do galley work with greasy pots and 
pans to be scoured, than have to wait on the fool 
girls my sister, Lorna, gathers around her.” 

4 4 Lorna! What a pretty name! You never 
told me her name was Lorna. You always just 


Tim’s Father 


159 


said 4 my sister/ I’ve meant to ask yon what her 
name was time and again, but when we are 
together there always seems to be so many things 
to talk about I can’t get to it.” 

“ Yes, honey, and there always will be. That’s 
what is so nice about you: we never seem to talk 
out,” and Breck slid his hand along the rail and 
covered Jane’s hand. “ We don’t get much time 
alone, though, do we! I love the old i Boojum,’ 
love her like a sister or a nice comfortable maiden 
aunt, but I can’t say she offers a fellow many 
chances to tell a girl how much he thinks of her. 
Ummhum! Just think of Hurricane Island! I 
tell you that’s a great place for love making.” 

“ How about the little tow-headed Grays? It 
seems to me on one occasion they were pretty 
numerous,” laughed Jane. 

“ Break away! Break away! ” called Char- 
lie, as he emerged from below. 

“ What did I tell you! ” grumbled Breck. 

“ But you never did tell me if you are going 
to hunt up your family,” insisted Jane. “ Do 
you intend to do it? ” 

“ Not on your life! In the first place, they 
have gone. Mr. Reynolds said they had sailed 
this morning. I am too happy to row and if the 


160 The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

Governor and I get together we’ll lock horns, as 
sure as shooting.” 

“ Yes — but — ” 

“ But what? ” 

“I can’t fancy being in the same — same — 
Gulf Stream with my father and not trying to 
see him, even if it meant having a small set-to 
with him when I did see him. No doubt he and 
I are to have some argument at our next meet- 
ing, but I am nearly dead to see him all the 
same,” and Jane’s black eyes softened to velvet. 

“ But perhaps your father is different,” said 
Breck sadly. 

“ Different in some ways, but all fathers are 
more or less alike. I reckon your father loves 
you just as much as mine does me. He just 
doesn’t know you are grown-up, and you see my 
father had to let me grow up because my mother 
died when I was so young. He thinks I’ve got 
lots more judgment than Jack just because he 
can’t get in his head Jack is a man. If Jack had 
been a girl, he’d have realized long ago he was 
no longer a child. I’m hoping you are going to 
be friends with your father, Breck. It is a terri- 
ble thing to carry a grouch around, especially 
one against some of your own blood.” 


Tim’s Father 


161 


“ I know it, honey, but you don’t know what a 
ragging I got the last time I saw the Governor. 
Some day, maybe, it will come right and heal 
up, but the place is still pretty sore.” 

“ But how about Lorna? ” 
i ‘ Oh she is such a — such a — well, I think I 
won’t say anything about Lorna. I fancy she is 
what her environment has made her. She hasn’t 
had half a chance with everything on God’s green 
earth hers for the asking. Everybody spoils her 
and she has such a bunch of silly friends around 
her flattering her to death that it is hard for the 
true Lorna to come out. She was a cute kid years 
ago and I used to be mighty fond of her — she 
was of me too — but now — but never mind. She 
has changed — changed a lot.” 

“ Maybe you changed too,” insisted Jane. 

“ But she seemed to have so little sympathy 
for my plans and ideals.” 

“ Did you have any for hers? ” 

4 4 But hers were so silly and vapid.” 

“ Perhaps she thought yours were silly, too.” 
“ Well, we won’t row about it, honey. I guess 
I was rather superior and Mg brotherish when 
last Lorna and I met,” said Breck somewhat 
ruefully. 


162 


The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

“ Next time, behave better, 5 ’ admonished Jane. 

“ All right, but I can’t see a possibility of any 
next time for years to come. When you are given 
to understand by your father that your room is 
more desirable than your company, you are not 
likely to do much hanging around after that,” 
and the young man flushed. 

“ Poor old Breck! You mustn’t think I’m 
blaming you. I am sure it isn’t your fault, but 1 
just have such a strong family feeling myself 
that I can’t understand when it is lacking. I 
know you have it too, and so has your father — 
and no doubt poor little Lorna has it. You just 
can’t get together on it.” 

And Jane began to turn over in her mind how 
she might help her fiance to make friends with 
his family. 


CHAPTER XV 


tim’s mother and detaels 

Mrs. Reynolds always insisted that she be- 
longed on Nantucket Island, although she had 
been born and reared on the mainland. 

“ It would take centuries of exile to get a Coffin 
to acknowledge any other spot as home,” she 
would say. 

She had inherited a beautiful old house on the 
main street of Nantucket Town and it had been 
almost a religion with her to keep that house as 
her grandmothers for generations had kept it. 
Not a modem touch was allowed to profane the 
lovely simplicity of that island home. Her regret 
was that only the summers could be spent there. 
She would have enjoyed it the whole year round 
and she resented Mr. Reynolds’ large law prac- 
tice that compelled his presence in Boston. 

In Boston, Mrs. Reynolds was a fashionable, 

handsomely dressed woman, but the moment she 

entered her ancestral halls she changed her costly 

attire for a gown of severe simplicity more in 

163 


164 The Camp Fire Girls Cn a Yacht 

keeping with the painted floors, rag rugs and 
. cane-bottomed chairs found therein. She might 
have been her own great-grandmother in her 
sprigged muslin dress with a hemstitched ker- 
chief crossed over her loval Coffin bosom. The 

%> 

retinue of servants the Reynolds family found 
necessary in Boston to administer to their wants 
were left on the mainland. Ruling in their stead 
was one severe-looking person who claimed dis- 
tant relationship with Mrs. Reynolds since they 
boasted the same great-great-grandmother 
Cousin Esther Sylvester was her name. She was 
the maid of all work, accomplishing with the 
utmost ease and precision the labor of cook, 
laundress, and housemaid, and at the same time 
never forgetting that she was of the same blood 
as the mistress. The fact that her cousin’s 
grandfather had left the island and gone over on 
the mainland, amassing a fortune, made not a 
whit of difference to the independent Esther, 
whose grandfather had stayed where he was and, 
at least, kept what he had, which was a fourth 
share in a very likely whaling vessel and an ex- 
tremely picturesque fisherman’s cottage at 
Siasconset. Esther had inherited this property 
and, like her grandfather, she had held on to it. 


Tim’s Mather and Details 165 

She still owned a fourth share in the whaling 
vessel and the picturesque cottage at ’Sconset. 
To be sure, the whaling vessel was rotting at the 
Nantucket wharf, a mute reminder that the 
wheels of the world no longer had to be greased 
with sperm oil. The cottage had proved a much 
more valuable asset, as she rented it every sum- 
mer for large sums to a great actress who de- 
lighted in its simplicity and the view one could 
get from its crooked little windows of the quaint 
old village streets. 

Mrs. Reynolds and Cousin Esther had not only 
the same great-grandmothers but also the same 
insatiable curiosity about the small and seem- 
ingly unimportant details of everyday life. Per- 
haps it was something that had been bred in the 
bones of the original Nantucket Islanders when, 
in old days, they had been cut off from the world 
for months at a time and their own affairs and 
the affairs of their neighbors were of all impor- 
tance because of the fact that the affairs of the 
nation were stale long before they were brought 
to their ears. The fact that Amanda Bartlett 
had broken her best Canton china teapot was a 
current event while the news that the men of 
Boston had thrown the tea into the bay at the 


166 The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

famous Boston Tea Party was days old before 
they heard of it. 

The telegram telling of Tim’s accident had 
thrown Mrs. Reynolds and Cousin Esther Syl- 
vester into a great state of excitement. Not only 
were they very uneasy about their darling boy 
but they did so want to know how and when and 
where the accident had occurred. Y\ T ho had 
rescued him! Which leg was broken, etc., etc., 
etc. Who were the mysterious persons who had 
sent the lengthy telegram, evidently not at all 
counting the cost? How did they happen to be 
at Hurricane Island? Were they white people? 
If so, why did they say their yacht was named 
such a strange outlandish name, “ Boojum! ” 
Surely the telegraph operator must have got it 
wrong. Perhaps they were Fiji Islanders and 
not white persons after all. At any rate, they 
had rescued the beloved Tim and were bearing 
him home in the yacht with the exotic name and 
the ladies were determined to be as nice to them 
as could be. 

“ Cousin Esther, vou had better make extra 
preparations and be ready for guests,” suggested 
Mrs. Reynolds. “ You know how Mr. Reynolds 
loses his head when he begins to invite.” 


Tim’s Mother and Details 


167 


“ Certainly, Cousin Lucia. I have baked three 
kinds of pies and have a cold joint in the larder. 
I calculate there will be food enough for all the 
Boojummers likely to land,” said Miss Sylvester 
with some stiffness of manner. She did not at all 
like suggestions from her cousin-mistress. 

Up the quiet, shady street of Nantucket Town 
came the Boojummers. Mr. Reynolds led the 
way with Mr. Wing. Then came the stretcher 
bearers, Breck and Jack, the grinning Tim borne 
lightly between them. The others flocked around 
the point of interest not certain they should not 
have stayed away and let Tim have his home-com- 
ing without such a crowd, but when this had been 
suggested, Mr. Reynolds made so many protesta- 
tions there was nothing to do but tag along. 

“ Well, when you come right down to it,” said 
Mabel, “ I guess there isn’t anybody to leave out. 
Father must go to receive thanks for being 
near by with the i Boojum. ’ Of course, Jack and 
Breck must go to carry Tim; Frances must go 
because she found him, and Jane must go because 
she helped carry him ; Ellen must go to look after 
J ack, and — ’ ’ 

“ And you and Charlie must go along to do 
the head work,” teased Jane. 


168 


The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

“ Exactly! Charlie must look after the legal 
aspect of the case and I must look after Charlie.” 

“ Here they come! Here they come! ” cried 
Mrs. Reynolds, peeping through the living-room 
window. 

“ Yes, and it’s a good thing I baked three kinds 
of pies,” asserted Cousin Esther, grimly. “ I HI 
be bound Mr. Reynolds has invited them to 
dinner.” 

“ How pale my Tim looks! I’m afraid I’m 
going to cry, Cousin Esther, although I know how 
he hates for me to.” 

“ Don’t do it, Cousin Lucia, don’t do it! Re- 
member Great-great-Aunt Patience who never 
shed a tear even when they brought home her 
three boys all drowned off Sankity. Here’s the 
smelling-salts. Now bear up! ” 

Tim was pale in spite of a summer’s tan. The 
stretcher bearers were as careful as possible, but 
every little jolt was painful to the fractured hip. 

“ It hurts I know,” whispered Frances. 

“ Not much, but thank you for thinking about 
it, all the same.” Tim had been wondering if 
any of them realized how much it did hurt. 

“ Just think how Jane and I bumped you and 
be thankful our skirts are where they are instead 


Tim’s Mother and Details 


169 


of stretched on oars and you swung in the 
middle.’ ’ 

“ I wonder if Mother is going to weep over 
me. Poor Mother! It does her good to cry, but 
Cousin Esther is so stern with her when she gives 
way. Of course I’m not crazy about being cried 
over, but I can stand it for the good of the cause. 
I can stand anything better than Mother’s sup- 
pressed expression. There she is! Yes, she has 
her suppressed expression! ” 

Mrs. Reynolds came slowly from the door. 
Her instinct was to fly to her son and throw her- 
self on him, take his red head in her arms and 
weep, but, remembering Great-great-Aunt Pa- 
tience, she held on to herself, knowing full well 
the stem Cousin Esther was looking at her from 
the small-paned window r . 

The mother bent over her boy, giving him a 
restrained peck. But he put his arms around 
her and drew her close. 

4 4 Come on, old lady, and don’t be so Coffinish. 
Give us what our Southern friends call a ‘ sho 
nuf ’ kiss.”' 

That was too much for poor Mrs. Reynolds. 
Not only did she give Tim a “ sho nuf ” kiss but 
added to it a genuine hug, while the tears fell fast. 


170 The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

What did she care after all for old Great-great- 
Aunt Patience and her strength of character that 
kept her from shedding tears even if her three 
sons were drowned off Sankity? 

“ That’s something like! ” declared Tim. 
“ Now you won’t have to get a headache from 
restrained emotion. Never mind Cousin Esther. 
She will forget it by the time she makes enough 
pies for all of us.” 

Tim then proceeded, with the help of his 
father, to introduce all the Boojummers to his 
mother. After the formal introduction, he began 
with the utmost patience to give a detailed ac- 
count of the accident to the eager ladies, Cousin 
Esther having joined them in the living room 
where the stretcher bearers had deposited their 
burden on a long, low couch. 

“ And this is the one who found me,” indicat- 
ing Frances. 

“ Do tell! ” from Miss Esther. 

“ Now tell me how you found him,” from Mrs. 
Reynolds. “ How you found him and what you 
were doing there and how you happened to look 
behind the rock — everything! everything! Don’t 
leave out a thing.” 

Frances proceeded with the narrative. WTien 


Tim’s Mother and Details 


171 


she got to the place where she went after Jane, 
her insatiate hostess exclaimed: 

“ And yon tell me what you were doing and 
what you thought and what you said; please, 
Jane! ” 

With a twinkle in her eye, Jane took up the 
tale which seemed like a game of consequences. 
The improvised stretcher made its appearance in 
the story and the distracted mother looked 
eagerly about as though expecting the stretcher 
to tell all it knew. 

“ Now this is where the petticoats come in! ” 
exclaimed Mr. Reynolds. ‘ ‘ What did I tell you ? ’ ’ 

“ You made a stretcher out of the oars and 
your skirts? Remarkable! Wonderful! What 
kind of skirts? ” 

“ These we are wearing! ” Frances and Jane 
sounded like a Greek chorus. 

“ Those identical ones? ” 

“ The same! ” 

Cousin Esther, who was standing next to 
Frances, picked up a piece of her skirt between 
thumb and forefinger and examined it critically. 

i ‘ What they call khaki nowadays/’ she said 
sententiously. “It is really a kind of light- 
weight sail cloth.” 


172 The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

‘ ‘ And the oars ! What kind of oars ? I do 
wish I might have seen the oars.” 

“Here’s one of them,” grinned Tim. “ I’ve 
been lying on it all the way here and mighty un- 
comfortable it was, but I felt I must produce it.” 
He proceeded to roll over a bit and pull gingerly 
at a little red oar that had been concealed up to 
that moment. “ Here it is. Exhibit B! Now 
proceed! ” 

“ No wonder you were making faces as we 
came long,” scolded Frances. “ Why didn’t 
you let me carry the oar? It wasn’t very good 
for a broken hip.” 

“ Excuse me, please,” put in Breck. “ But 
none of this is very good for a broken hip. I’m 
not much of a doctor, but I’m the only one you 
have had as yet and I really must insist, Mrs. 
Reynolds, upon my patient’s being put to bed 
and a real surgeon being called in to pass on my 
work. ’ ’ 

“ Oh, thunder, Breck! Not before grub! ” 
grumbled Tim. 

All of them laughed at this and Mrs. Reynolds 
cried a little more. 

“ Now you are my own boy again,” she laughed 
through her tears. 


Tim’s Mother and Details 


173 


“ You remind me, Mother, of Tennyson’s 
lines,” quoted Mr. Reynolds: 

“ Home they brought her warrior dead; 

She nor swooned, nor uttered cry. 

All her maidens, watching, said, 
i She must weep or she will die.’ ” 

“ It seems to more like Sawyer’s parody on 
Tennyson,” suggested Frances: 

“ Home they brought her sailor son, 

Grown a man across the sea, 

Tall and broad and black of beard, 

And hoarse of voice as man may be. 

Hand to shake and mouth to kiss, 

Both he offered e’re he spoke; 

But she said, 4 What man is this 
Comes to play a sorry joke? 9 

Then they praised him, called him 6 smart. ’ 

‘ Tightest lad that ever stept.’ 

But her son she did not know, 

And she neither smiled nor wept. 

Rose a nurse of ninety years, 

Set a pigeon-pie in sight; 

She saw him eat — ’Tis he! ’Tis he! ’ 

She knew him by his appetite! ” 


CHAPTER XVI 


A MOUTH FOR PIE 

A surgeon was called in and passed favorably 
on B reek’s handiwork. Tim’s fracture was doing 
as well as could be expected, but he was to be put 
to bed for three weeks or more and then, of course, 
must walk on crutches for many days to come. 

44 Isn’t that the limit? ” grumbled Tim. 44 And 
the 4 Boojum ’ will be sailing away before I know 
it and I’ll be left here with nothing to do.” 

44 You can be knitting,” suggested Frances , 44 at 
least your bones can be.” 

44 That’s right! Laugh — you don’t care if my 
hip is broken. ’ ’ Tim was cross and miserable and 
didn’t care who knew it. It was hard right in the 
middle of his well-earned summer vacation to be 
laid up in bed just when he had made the acquain- 
tance of such a jolly crowd too. He did not confess 
to himself that it was Frances and not the whole 
crowd that he was going to miss. 

Mrs. Reynolds had given her boy the room 
opening into the living room for his sick chamber. 

174 


A Mouth for Pie 


175 


It had been a sewing room through all the genera- 
tions and it was something of a wrench for her 
to change it, but a live son weighed more in the 
balance than all the dead traditions, even though 
they were Coffin traditions, and it was nice to have 
Tim downstairs where his friends could see him 
and where, when he once got up and around on his 
crutches, he would not have to contend with stairs. 
Cousin Esther grumbled, but Cousin Esther was 
opposed to change of any sort. 

“ It is out of reason to take a sewing room for a 
bed room,” she objected. “ I’d as soon think of 
making a pumpkin pie with a top crust or a mince 
pie without one. A sewing room is meant for a 
sewing room and a bedroom for a bedroom. I like 
things left as our Maker intended them to be.” 

With which bit of theology she let the matter 
drop, but Tim always felt out of place in the sew- 
ing room. When Frances made the above sug- 
gestion about his bones knitting, he felt a grim 
satisfaction that the process was to go on in the 
sewing room. 

“ You don’t care a bit,” he repeated, keeping 
Frances’ hand in his a moment after the rest of 
the Boojummers had left his room, having bid him 
good-bye before going on a jaunt to ’Sconset. 


176 The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

“ Nonsense! I do care! As for yon, you are 
most uncomplimentary,” declared Frances. “ You 
should be eternally grateful to your much-abused 
hip for getting itself broken. How otherwise 
would you ever have known the inmates of the 
i Boojum ’? ” 

“ Oh, I’d have found you somehow. What is to 
be is to be.” 

“ What has been was, you mean.” 

“ Well then, I’m going to grin and bear it as 
best I might. But please come see me when you 
get back from ’Sconset. Gee I’d like to go over 
there with you. It’s a peach of a place. It’s not 
quite so formal as Nantucket Town, more rough 
and ready. When all the summer folk go, I run 
over there and visit Cousin Esther sometimes. 
She loves to have me, although she is cleaning 
house most of the time getting rid of the leavings 
of the actress who rents her place for the summer. 
I am sure it is clean as clean, but she is never 
content until she has scrubbed every board three 
times at least. I’ll get Cousin Esther to ask you 
to come too. Will you? ” 

“ But I’ll be gone — out West — home — some- 
where by that time.” Frances tried to draw 
her hand away but Tim held on to it. 


A Mouth for Pie 


177 


“ But sometime would you go if Cousin Esther 
asked you! ” 

4 4 Would she make three kinds of pies? ” 

44 Sure! Ten kinds! ” 

44 All right then! ” Frances was laughing and 
blushing but she gave Tim’s hand a little answer- 
ing pressure and left the boy happy and not so 
indignant with the fractured hip as that member 
no doubt deserved. After all, he reflected, there 
is generally a reason for everything. 

44 Cousin Esther! ” he called after the Boo- 
jummers were out of the house, 44 please come 
here a minute.’ ’ 

44 Well, w T hat is it? ” and Esther came and 
stood by his bed, looking down on the red-haired 
man that seemed to her still the little boy who 
had been the plague and joy of her summers since 
he was able to crawl. She tried to look stern, but 
her eyes were soft in spite of her. 

44 What do you think of the one called Fran- 
ces? ” 

44 The one who found you lying up behind the 
boulder? ” 

44 That’s the one.” 

44 Well, she ate a piece of every kind of pie. 
That’s doing pretty well for a girl born out of 


178 


The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

New England. She looks as though she came of 
good stock not to be seafaring.’ ’ 

“ Her ancestors went West in a prairie schooner 
and I fancy they had as much to contend with 
and more than ours did on the bounding billows,” 
laughed Tim. 4 4 Will you ask her to come visit 
you over at ’Sconset? ” 

“ Are you serious, boy? ” 

“ As serious as I ever was in my life. Her 
last name is Bliss and if she will have me that 
will be my middle name for the rest of my life. 
Don’t tell Mother. I want to wait and see if she 
will have me. I don’t see how she can.” 

“ I don’t see how she can help it if she has 
any sense,” declared Esther with some indig- 
nation. “ Not have you indeed! ” 

“ Well, if she does, will you teach her how to 
make pies? ” teased Tim. 

“ Of course, if her mother has neglected to 
do so.” 

“ All right Cousin Esther. I’m glad you like 
her. Please hand me that scrap book over on the 
table before you go. It is the deuce and all to be 
laid up and not able to wait on myself.” 

After Esther went out Tim lay idly fingering 
the scrap book. He chuckled to himself as he 


A Mouth for Pie 


179 


thought of the way his cousin had praised the 
girl he hoped to persuade to love him at some 
future date. 

“ A mouth for pie ! That’s the way she lauded 
her, ’ ’ he laughed. 4 ‘ Nothing hut a mouth for pie ! 
Well a slice from three kinds was going some. 
I fancy they must be almost at ’Sconset now. I 
do wish I could have been the first one to show 
her ’Sconset ,’ 9 he mused. “ Where is that little 
poem I want? ” and he rapidly turned the leaves 
of the scrap book. 

i ‘ Here it is ! I am going to read it to her some 
day. It fills the bill exactly I think.” 

’SCONSET BY-THE-SEA 
By Jeax Wright 

A queer old fisher village by the sea, 

With long low-lying sand, where great waves 
boom 

And break the whole year through. Wide 
moors 

Rich with gold gorse and purple heather 
bloom. 

The grass-grown, straggling streets run in 
and out 


180 The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

Past houses weather stained and strange to 
see; 

Built in the fashion of a sailor’s heart 
Like to a ship as wliat’s on land can be. 

And all in front, each housewife’s care and 
pride, 

A tiny garden. Rows of poppies red, 

Gay flaming hollyhocks and mignonette, 

And good old-fashioned i 1 jump-ups ” rear 
their head. 

Quaint folk, with many a tale of bygone days, 
When men sailed off and sometimes came no 
more; 

When women stayed at home to work and 
wait, 

And wear their hearts out on that smiling 
shore. 

The romance of those other braver days 
Hangs like a halo ’round the queer old town ; 
Shouts in the wind that comes across the sea ; 
Sighs in the wind that comes across the down. 

Look out across the tumbling surf toward 
Spain 

On some clear, lazy, golden, summer day, 

A vague mirage of towers and battlements — 
It is the place to dream one’s life away. 


CHAPTER XVII 


“ BOILED ” AT 'SCONSET 

The poem Tim read from his scrap-book is an 
excellent description of ’Sconset. It is a place in 
which to dream one’s life away in spite of the fact 
that it is a very popular summer resort and filled 
to overflowing with pleasure and rest seekers. 
There is many a nook and cranny behind the ever 
changing sand dunes where one can get away 
from the 4 4 madding crowd.” Behind one of 
those dunes Breck and Jane found a snug harbor 
after having taken a dip in the surf. 

“ Bid you ever feel such water? ” cried Jane, 
burrowing down in the yielding sand. u It isn’t 
as cold as Hurricane Island, but it has a stinging, 
spanking way with it as though it meant to con- 
quer you.” 

“ Yes, I feel as though parental authority had 
got after me with the wrong side of the hair 
brush,” laughed Breck. ‘ ‘ It is a treacherous bit 
of beach down at this end and none but good 
swimmers should venture here. ’ ’ 


181 


182 


The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

The bathing beach proper was several hundred 
yards from where Breck and June had taken their 
swim. There the island made a sharp curve and 
the undertow suddenly was increased as though 
the old ocean resented the change of tactics in the 
land. It was a sparkling, brilliant day, but the 
water gave evidence of there having been a storm 
at sea. Far out near the horizon were occasional 
white-caps and as the waves came closer to the 
shore they increased in size and fury, each one 
seemingly trying to jump on the back of the one 
in front, foaming and raging, thundering and 
booming, breaking on the sand with a final roar 
and then endeavoring to drag the whole of Nan- 
tucket Island down into the deep. The sand was 
coarse and loose and it took a firm, quick-footed 
person to get out of the surf safely without being 
“ boiled.” Boiling is a terrible experience and 
one often had by the unwary who does not know 
the habits of the surf on a shelving beach with 
loose and shifting sand. The worst feature about 
being “ boiled ” is the jeering crowd that sits on 
the beach and screams with laughter as the poor 
victim is turned over and over and played with 
by the relentless waves like some gigantic cat wor- 
rying a poor little mouse. There is nothing amus- 


44 Boiled ” at ’Sconset 


183 


ing in it but the crowd always finds it so and, 
when the poor mouse is cast up on the sands with 
a final admonishing spank from the last playful 
breaker, the ordinary crowd of holiday makers 
shows less heart than an ancient audience in a 
Roman arena. The victim, if it is a woman, is 
pretty apt to have lost her stockings in the strug- 
gle, her bathing cap, hair pins, anything in the 

i 

way of apparel that is not securely fastened on. 
No matter what the sex, it is hard to come out from 
a real good 44 boiling ” with much religion left. 
Ears leveled over with sand, shins, knees and 
elbows scraped sore from being dragged back and 
forth, besides the hurt feelings from being laughed 
at, is enough to make one doubt that 4 4 whatever 

is, is right.” 

To the more secluded spot, sought by Jane and 
Breck, came Mabel and Charley. They, too, found 
it difficult at times to pursue their love-making on 
the deck of the 44 Roojum ” where, as Charlie put 

it, 44 somebody was always butting in.” 

44 Gee! Ain’t this nice? Not a soul around! 
Come on, Mabel honey, let’s take a dive and then 
get on the safe side of one of those friendly dunes. 

Now Charlie Preston was a fresh- water fish and, 
while he was a powerful swimmer, he knew little 


184 


The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

of the dangers of surf bathing. While on the 
“ Boojum,” as a rule, the bathing had been done 
by diving from the yacht’s deck into the deep sea. 
Mabel was as at home in the surf as a seal and 
could dive under a breaker and come up on the 
other side with amazing poise. She never even 
thought to warn Charlie of the treachery of the 
beach but dived in and while her fiance stood to 
watch her prowess and admire her skill a wave 
took him off his feet and then began the process 
of “ boiling ” described above. 

Over and over poor Charlie rolled, struggling 
and spluttering, gurgling and choking. He would 
clutch with desperate hands at the loose sand and 
then a relentless wave w r ould dash over him and 
drag him back while a playful brother wave would 
knock him with a resounding smack up on the 
beach only to let him be dragged back and rolled 
over by yet another one before he could get a 
footing. 

Hearing a great splashing and screaming, Breck 
and Jane emerged from behind their friendly 
dune just in time to see Charlie being boiled to a 
king’s taste and Mabel, who ordinarily would have 
been much amused at the discomfiture of an un- 
wary bather, was screaming shrilly and trying 


“ Bailed ” at ’Sconset 


185 


to get in to come to tlie rescue of her beloved 
Charlie. But one must bide his time in trying to 
ride waves. Time and tide waits for no man, nor 
does it hurry, and getting back to shore was not 
as quick as Mabel would have liked. She made a 
desperate lunge and, for the first time in the 
annals of the Wings, one of that name was caught 
in the surf and “boiled.” 

Over and over went Mabel and over and over 
went Charlie again, but in the confusion they 
managed to clasp hands and just as Breck, trying 
to conceal a grin, came to their assistance they 
managed to crawl up out of reach of the spanking 
waves. 

A rueful couple they were, sitting on the beach 
blinking ludicrously at each other. 

“ Well, you needn’t laugh ! ” spluttered Charlie. 

“I’m not laughing ! I ’m trying to cry, but my 
eyes are dammed up with sand,” sobbed Mabel. 

“ Well, you needn’t laugh, Breck, you and 
Jane.” 

“We are not laughing, old fellow. I would 
have come sooner if I had known what was going 
on,” said Breck. “ ‘ Boiling ’ is no joke to my 
; mind but a serious calamity.” 

Breck spoke soberly but he was glad Mabel and 




186 


The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

Charlie had so much sand in their eyes they could 
not see his face. Nobody could help smiling at 
their misery. 

Jane came to the assistance of her friend with a 
small pail some child had left half buried in the 
sand. This she filled with sea water by carefully 
timing an incoming breaker. She had no desire to 
be caught as Mabel and Charlie had been. 

“ Here, honey, wash out your poor eyes.” 

“ They are getting washed fro-om with-h-in- 
hin-out-liout-ward,” sobbed Mabel. “ I ne-hever 
expec-hected to get boi-hoiled.” 

“ Don’t you mind, darling,” comforted Charlie, 
who was still panting but was happy to be alive 
after such an experience. “ Here’s a moonstone 
I found buried in my ear. A beauty too! I’m 
going to have it set in a ring for you. I’ve heard 
there were lovely moonstones on this beach, but I 
never expected to pick up one by ear.” 

“ I’m hun-un-gry,” said Mabel, her sobs letting 
up somewhat. “ When I get scared, I always get 
hungry. Maybe it is the ‘ boiling ’ that made me 
think about food.” 

“ Of course,” said Charlie, indulgently. “ I’m 
kind of hungry too. I tell you what you do: you 
and Jane wait here and Breck and I’ll go forage 


“ Boiled ” at ’Sconset 


187 


and bring us back a light lunch. “ We’ll pick up 
the rest of the crowd on the way. ’ ’ 

“ Not too light,” admonished Mabel. 

Breck looked sadlv at Jane. There seemed to 
be no place where he could go and have a quiet 
little love-making with his sweetheart. Why should 
Charlie and Mabel come and be ‘ boiled ’ near 
their dune of refuge? And why should he have to 
go hunt food for Mabel? But Jane gave him a 
bright little nod of admonition and there was 
nothing for him to do but comply. He leant over 
and whispered to her : 

‘ ‘ Don ’t go in the water while I am away. Please 
promise me ! ” 

And she laughingly promised. 


CHAPTER XVIII 


THE BEGINNING OF TRAGEDY 

While Jane and Mabel sat in the sun leaning 
comfortably against the friendly dune, a group 
of people came towards their retreat from the 
crowded bathing beach. 

“ Goodness, I wish they would stay away from 
here,” grumbled Mabel. “ I'm still panting for 
breath and I certainly don ’t want to move. ’ 9 

“ I reckon they won’t bother us if we don’t 
bother them,” suggested Jane. “ It looks like a 
swell bunch.” 

“ That’s what I’ve got against them. How can 
a body eat before such elegance and Charlie and 
Breck will be back soon with food, I am thinking. 
That’s a pretty girl in the Vanity Fair bathing 
suit and scarlet cap — and look at the old gent in 
yachting togs! He must be postmaster general 
of all the railroads or something grand. He locks 
as though he owned the island and was thinking 
about annexing the ocean. ’ ’ 

“ He doesn’t seem to take much pleasure in his 

188 


The Beginning of Tragedy 189 

possessions,’ ’ laughed Jane. “ He looks sad to 
me.” 

The gentleman in question was a powerfully 
built man of about sixty, with iron gray hair, 
piercing blue eyes, a high Homan nose that seemed 
to flaunt its aristocratic lines and a mouth and 
jaw of such force and determination that Jane 
wondered at the impertinence of a wave that, 
having leaped on the back of one of its brothers, 
came tumbling in all out of order, wetting the im- 
maculate white shoes of the nabob. He looked 
indignant but evidently felt it to be beneath his 
notice. 

Behind him trooped a crowd of ycmg people, 
five girls and two young men. The old gentle- 
man was the only one not in bathing costume. 

“ This is a good place to go in, Father,” said 
the pretty girl in the Vanity Fair suit. “ I sim- 
ply could not have gone in with that common 
crowd up there.” 

“ Humph! ” whispered Mabel, “ that must be 
the princess.” 

“ Of course not! Such persons! ” spoke up 
one of the other girls. 

“ No one knows them,” from another. 

“ Well, hardly! ” drawled one of the young 


190 


The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

men who seemed to be dancing attendance on the 
pretty girl Mabel had designated as “ the 
princess.” 

“ I hope they can swim and know something 
about undertow and getting 4 boiled ’, ’ ’ murmured 
Jane. 

“ The snobs! It might do them good to get a 
good drubbing on their stuck-up persons,” an- 
swered Mabel, looking at the interlopers with 
round wondering eyes. 

The interlopers in turn paid not the least atten- 
tion to either Jane or Mabel. If they had been 
sand fleas or skates’ eggs, their presence could 
not have been more completely ignored. 

“ Sorry you won’t go in, sir,” said one of the 
young men to the older man. 

“ I never learned to swim,” he answered with 
a certain haughty indifference of tone which put 
the polite young man along with the impertinent 
wave, the sand fleas, the skates’ eggs, Jane and 
Mabel, among the things to be ignored. 

“ Strange! Your daughter is a beautiful 
swimmer — ’ ’ 

“ Yes, beautiful!” chorused the girls who 
seemed to be bent on flattering the pretty daughter. 

“ She does everything well,” said one of them. 


191 


The Beginning of Tragedy 

i ‘ And your son is — ” but what his son was 
Jane and Mabel could not hear, as the gentleman 
turned on his heel and walked off up the beach 
puffing vigorously at a long black cigar that Mabel 
insisted smelt as though it might have cost a 
dollar. 

“ Lorna, darling, I hate for you to get your 
pretty bathing suit wet,” said one of the girls, 
whose manner was even more fawning than the 
rest. 

“ Oh, Lord! ” groaned Mabel. “ Just listen! ” 

“ Lorna! Lorna! ” Jane said to herself. 
* ‘ Could these be Breck ’s people ? 9 9 Looking after 
the retreating figure of the impatient old gentle- 
man, she saw unmistakable lines of resemblance. 
He could be none other than the father of the man 
she had promised to marry. 

“ Poor Breck! They are certainly difficult,” 
she said to herself. “ But the father looks sad. 
I believe he has been suffering, and the girl is 
sweet looking and mighty pretty. It is just this 
lot of flatterers and sillies that are ruining her. 
Look at the men! They haven’t a chin between 
them and the girls ought to have a good stren- 
uous course in Camp Fire training to knock the 
foolishness out of them.” 


192 The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

She said nothing to Mabel about the possibility 
of their being the Breckenridges. Mabel was not 
a marvel of tact and Jane felt that here was a 
situation that must be handled delicately. She 
hoped something would detain Breck and she 
could warn him that his father and sister were on 
the beach. It might be hard on him to come upon 
them unawares. She felt assured, however, that 
her Breck was equal to any emergency. 

44 I wish I could get my wind back,” said Mabel. 
44 That 4 boiling ’ has done me up for the day. 
I wanted to go in the water again but I fancy 
I’d better not.” 

44 You are panting, you poor dear,” said Jane 
sympathetically. 

44 I was scared about Charlie. I believe that 
did me up more than all of the faney somersaults 
I turned.” 

4 4 Why don ’t you cuddle down and take a nap 1 9 1 
suggested Jane. 

44 I believe I will,” Mabel curled herself up in 
the sand and in a moment was fast asleep. 

Jane, glad to have quiet for her thoughts, 
directed her attention to the bathers. The pretty 
Lorna had dived through the breakers and was 
riding the waves like a veritable mermaid. She 


The Beginning of Tragedy 


193 


was a good swimmer and seemed perfectly at 
home in the surf. 

“ Isn’t she wonderful? ” 

“ Did you ever see anyone so beautiful? ” 

The flatterers were forced to shout their compli- 
ments in loud tones so that the pretty Lorna could 
hear them above the noise of the breakers. 

‘ ‘ Come in ! 9 9 she commanded. The young men 
looked rather ruefully at the curling waves and 
the girls took tentative steps in the direction of 
their princess. But tentative steps are fatal on a 
beach like that with a heavy uncertain sea. The 
“ boiling 99 that Mabel and Charlie had just 
undergone was nothing to the one that the timid 
young men and maidens now were subjected to. 
It was the fault of one young man who hesitated 
and was lost. Over he went and clutching wildly 
grasped the arm of one of the girls, who in turn 
pulled down another and then the merry war went 
on. 

‘ ‘ Help ! Help ! 9 9 they shrieked. 

“ I reckon they can help one another,” said 
Jane grimly. 

Just as one victim would stagger to his feet, 
another would clutch wdldly at his legs and over he 
would go. In the midst of this confusion another 


194 


The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

cry rang out shrill and sharp above the rush of 
the waters and the squeals of those being 
“ boiled.” 

“ Help! Oh, help! Pm giving out! ” 

Jane sprang to her feet. In her amusement over 
the laughable predicament of the unwary she had 
forgotten all about Lorna. Now she could plainly 
see that the girl was in distress. Evidently she 
had tried to come in to shore and was being car- 
ried out by the undertow. She had lost her head 
and was struggling wildly. For a moment her 
head with the gay cap and handkerchief went 
under, a huge wave breaking over her. 

Jane dived through the breakers. She was con- 
scious of the fact that the father was near her. He 
had turned and walked back towards the beach, 
arriving near the friendly dune just as his daugh- 
ter^ cry for help rang out. 

“ My God! It’s Lorna!” he gasped. 
“ Here! ” he cried, grabbing one of the strug- 
gling young men out of the breakers just as he 
was being thrown up on the sands by a playful 
wave. 4 i Here, you ! My daughter is drowning ! ’ 1 
1 ‘ So am I ! ” gasped the chinless youth. 

“ You can swim — go get her! Get her man! 
I can’t swim a stroke.” 


The Beginning of Tragedy 195 

The frantic father was rushing up and down 
like a raging lion. By that time, all of the party 
had come out of the boiling with no bones broken 
but with rueful countenances. 

‘ ‘ A nawsty beach ! ’ ’ announced the other young 
man. 

“ But my Lorna! She is drowning! ” bellowed 
the father. 

“ Lorna! Lorna! 99 wailed the girls and the 
youths shivered and tried to make up their minds 
to go in after her but the waves seemed to have 
redoubled in force and fury. They rose up like 
walls and broke on the shore as though determined 
to smash anything that dared approach them. 

“ A rope! A rope! Get a rope! 99 commanded 
Mr. Breckenridge. But nobody seemed to know 
where to get a rope, so nobody got one. “ Will 
none of you go in and get my girl? Cowards! ” 

He beat the trembling young men on their cring- 
ing backs and tried to shove them into the water. 

‘ ‘ My God ! My God ! Why did I never learn to 
swim? 99 

The shrieks of the distracted friends of Lorna 
had at last attracted some of the people from the 
regular bathing beach and the crowd began to 
surge towards the scene of the disaster. 


196 


The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

In the meantime Jane with sure eye and steady 
stroke had cut under the combing breakers and 
reached the spot where last she had seen the 
drowning girl. She trod water for a moment and 
peered through the clear green waves. Ah, there 
was a flash of the pretty crimson cap and hand- 
kerchief! Without a momenta hesitation, Jane 
dived and came up bearing a limp trophy. 

“ I reckon it's a good thing she’s lost conscious- 
ness,” thought Jane. “ She can’t straggle and I 
have some chance of getting in with her. ’ ’ 

She looked back on the beach as a huge wave 
raised her aloft with her burden, and wondered 
if she could make it. It seemed a great way off. 

4 4 Of course you can, Jane Pellew! Keep your 
mouth shut and breathe through your nose ; don ’t 
fight the waves but let them take you in. Think 
of the skates’ eggs that are thrown up on the 
sands, how fragile they are and still safe. Think 
of Breck! Thing of Father and Jack and poor 
Aunt Min ! Think of Lorna and what it will mean 
to Breck ’s father to have his child safe. Poor 
man! ” 

Holding Lorna ’s head above water as much as 
possible, she began her perilous trip ashore. She 
must time each wave and endeavor to ride it in- 


The Beginning' of Tragedy 197 

stead of being overcome by it. Many times she 
and Frances had played the game of saving each 
other and she was thankful for the skill she had 
acquired. But she found it quite a different thing 
saving Frances who inadvertently helped herself 
somewhat and saving this poor limp girl who 
flopped so piteously and whose head was so hard 
to keep above water. 

“ If Breck would only come! ” her heart cried 
out. 

Among the crowd that gathered on the beach 
there were many good swimmers but, as some- 
times happens in a crowd, a strange panic had 
seized them. The run in the loose sand from the 
bathing beach proper had winded most of them 
too and men and women stood shuddering and 
watched the black-eyed girl make her fight. 

‘ 6 She will win ! She will win ! ’ 9 they comforted 
themselves by saying. 

“ Lord! what pluck! ” 

“ Who is it — the drowned girl? ” 

“ Preston Breckenridge’s daughter. He’s the 
multimillionaire from California. ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ Money won ’t help him much now. ’ 9 


CHAPTER XIX 


THE GOOD OF THE ILL WIND 

Mabel waked up just as Jane triumphantly rode 
her last wave and w r as cast up on the sand still 
holding on to her unconscious burden. 

Lorna’s friends, shrieking and crying, threw 
themselves on her wailing and moaning : 

4 ‘ She is dead ! She is dead ! ’ ’ 

“ Give her to me! ” sternly demanded her 
stricken father. 

Jane was completely exhausted and lay for a 
moment with her eyes closed while the crowd of 
holiday makers closed in around her, praising her 
and lauding her to the skies. But Jane’s work was 
not over. As soon as she could pull herself to- 
gether she was on her feet and, pushing her way 
unceremoniously through the crowd, she caught 
Mr. Breckenridge by the arm where he stood 
clasping his Lorna to his broken heart. 

‘ ‘ Don ? t listen to them ! She is not dead ! Give 
her to me. Give her here, I say! Mabel! ” she 

called, “ come and help me.” 

108 


The Good of the 111 Wind 


199 


Mabel was there in a moment. 

“ Push the crowd back and come give first aid 
to the drowning. You know how.” Jane spoke 
authoritatively and Mabel took matters into her 
own hands. Lorna’s friends were the hardest to 
manage as they insisted upon hanging over her 
and covering her with kisses. 

“ You are killing her! ” Jane spoke sternly. 
“ Mr. Breckenridge, if you can’t make these peo- 
ple stop, I’ll not answer for your daughter’s life.” 

And now Mr. Breckenridge took matters into 
his own hands and pushed away the curious ones 
who would crowd in and with no gentle hand 
pulled the well-meaning if ill-advised friends away 
from his daughter. 

Then Mabel began the process of bringing to 
life the seemingly dead. Many times had she prac- 
ticed this stunt in classes until she knew how to 
do it better than any one of the group of Camp 
Fire Girls. 

u That fat girl will mash her,” wailed one of 
the friends. 

“ I may be fat but I’m no fool,” retorted Mabel, 
who had placed Lorna on her face with arms above 
her head and face turned to one side. Then she 
had seated herself astride the prostrate body and 


200 The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

with clever and strong hands manipulated her 
lungs. At first it seemed hopeless. The friends 
still wailed and it took all of Jane’s strength, and 
stubborn determination, combined with Mr. Breck - 
enridge’s, to hold them back from what they 
thought was their dead darling. 

4 4 She has just swallowed a lot of water,” Jane 
comforted the stricken father. 44 She wasn’t 
under water long enough to be drowned. Her 
heart is all right, isn’t it? ” 

44 As right as a trivet, my dear.” 

His 44 my dear ” gave Jane a little thrill. 

44 She needs all the air she can get and the more 
people crowd around her the harder it will be for 
her,” she said to the father, and to herself she 
wailed: 44 Where, where is Breck? ” and she 
prayed: 44 Oh, God, send Breck.” 

And Breck came at that moment. Laden with 
food and with the rest of the Boojummers Charlie 
and Breck had started back to the spot where they 
had left the girls. From afar off they saw the 
crowd and began to run. Suppose something had 
happened to Jane or Mabel. Breck remembered 
with thanksgiving that Jane had promised not to 
go in the water again until he got back. 

44 Good old Jane wouldn’t break her word for 


The Good of the 111 Wind 


201 


a million/’ he said to himself as he raced to see 
what was the matter anyhow. 

Towering above the crowd he saw the head of 
his own father and something in his face told 
him there was tragedy in the air. 

Breaking through the crowd to the space kept 
open by the exertions of Jane and Mr. Brecken- 
ridge, the son caught his father by the hand. 

“ Father! ” he cried. 

“ Allen! My son! Look, your sister! She is 
drowned.’ ’ 

“ No, she is not,” put in Jane reassuringly. 
“ See, her breath is coming back! ” and sure 
enough as Mabel pressed upon the lungs and then 
removed the pressure a sign of animation could 
be discerned in the prostrate body. The shoulders 
heaved slightly and there was a quivering of the 
long lashes that rested on the marble cheek. 

Mabel began to sob. 

“ Let me take your place, Mabel, please,” sug- 
gested Jane. 

“ Never! ” cried Mabel. “ I’m just sobbing 
because I’m so happy. She’s trying to breathe.” 

“ She’s going to live,” Jane whispered to 

\ 

Breck. 

“ I’ve always wanted to bring somebody back 


202 The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

ever since the time it was Miss Min ’s riding skirt 
and not Miss Min that got drowned,’ ’ continued 
Mabel, still pressing gently but firmly on Lorna’s 
lungs and then releasing the pressure. 

4 ‘ I believe, little sister, you tried to take in the 
whole ocean,” said Breck, kneeling by Lorna’s 
side and taking her hand in his after it was all 
over and she had come back to consciousness. 

“ Oh, Allen! And we have found you at last. 
We have been searching up and down the coast 
for days and days,” she whispered faintly. 
“ Father didn’t know I understood what he was 
doing, but he couldn’t fool me. He has been as 
restless as a caged lion. He was sure he would 
find you at Nantucket Town and when you weren’t 
there he sailed away, but only went around the 
island and put in again this morning.” 

This was in such a low tone that nobody except 
Breck heard it, but Jane noticed that there were 
tears in his eyes when he got to his feet and again 
grasped the hand of his father. 

“ Father, I want you to know my friends. This 
is Mr. Wing. T shipped as common seaman on 
his yacht, the ‘ Boojum,’ but, by a stroke of good 
fortune, I am now — er — eating at the captain’s 
table. ’ ’ 


The Good of the 111 Wind 


203 


Breck went down the line introducing his 
friends, but with an unwonted shyness saved Jane 
until the last. Jane stood by looking on and 
blushing in spite of herself. Her bathing cap that 
the waves had spared had been lost in the scuffle 
with the crowd and the importunate friends and 
her wealth of blue-black hair had fallen about her 
shoulders, making her look very handsome. Mr. 
Breckenridge looked at the girl keenly as his son 
at last turned to her. He took her brown hand in 
both of his and said: 

4 4 Somehow I don’t need to be introduced to this 
young lady. I know her already, all but her name. 
I know she risked her life for a perfect stranger 
and I know she has more grit than any man on 
the beach, as much grit as any man I have ever 
known.’ ’ 

He leant over and kissed her hand. 44 I can 
never repay you, my dear, whatever your name is. 
There is no way to repay you.” 

44 Yes there is, sir,” said Jane blushing furi- 
ously but smiling bravely. 44 You can give your 
son and me your blessing, because we are think- 
ing about getting married.” 

It was a good thing the crowd had dispersed 
and gone back to the safer beach, because crowd 


204 The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

or no crowd Breck put his arm around his dear 
Jane and kissed her again and again. 

Then Charlie felt he should kiss Mabel because 
she had done such good work in resuscitating the 
drowned. And Mr. Breckenridge thanked her all 
over again for her wonderful skill. 

“ Where did you learn how to do it? ” he asked. 

‘ ‘ Part of being a Camp Fire Girl,” declared 
Mabel. “ Camp Fire Girls are just hanging 
around longing for emergencies to occur so they 
can get more beads. You needn’t be grateful to 
me for resuscitating your daughter. I have been 
praying for such a chance for ever so long.” 

Everybody laughed at Mabel, who usually put 
her foot in it and never could get out a long word 
without mixing it up. 

“ And you are a Camp Fire Girl too? ” Mr. 
Breckenridge asked Jane. 

“ Oh yes, and it was being one that made me 
able to save Lorna. You see we practice saving 
people. Mabel doesn’t mean we w T ant things to 
happen but that we want to be near by and able 
to help if things do happen.” 

“ I see,” he smiled. 

“ Well, I’m mighty hungry,” put in the irre- 
pressible Mabel. 


The aood of the 111 Wind 


205 


“ Here are the eats,” whispered Charlie. 
‘ ‘ Hot-dog sandwiches and long green pickles and 
ginger ale, but you have to drink out of the 
bottles. ’ ’ 

J ane and Mabel could not help being amused to 
see the elegant persons who had been so superior 
not half an hour before and too refined even to 
bathe in the ocean with the common herd actually 
sitting down on the beach with them, whom they 
had so ignored, and sharing the crude luncheon 
with ill-concealed gusto. 

4 ‘ Excitement always makes me hungry, ’ ’ sighed 
Mabel to one of the chinless youths who was 
daintily munching a long dill pickle. 

As for Lorna’s flattering friends, they watched 
to see what she would do and then did likewise 
even to the extent of a vulgar hot-dog sandwich. 

“ I don’t know whether it is good for anyone 
who has been so near drowning to eat such food, 
but I guess you can try it, little Sister,” laughed 
Breck. 

The warm sun quickly dried the wet suits. 
Color came back into the wan faces and laughter 
was on the lips that had so recently uttered only 
moans. It was a merry party. No one could be 
stiff and elegant very long with the Boojummers 


206 The Camp Fire Girls On a Yacht 

headed by the amusing and altogether natural 
Mabel. 

Breck watched with pleasure his sister’s inter- 
est in Jane. His father’s eyes were never oft his 
son’s fiancee and in them it was plain to read 
supreme satisfaction and approval. 

And is this not a very good place to leave our 
Camp Fire Girls? They have had a wonderful 
summer trying to live up to the principles taught 
by their organization. Some of the beads they 
have won will not show on their strings but will 
be what Mabel called “ character beads.” 

Mr. Breckenridge saw to it that the two young 
women who saved his daughter’s life should have 
something more tangible than just “ character 
beads.” When they got back to New York, they 
had hardly reached their hotel, when each received 
a package by special messenger. Each box con- 
tained a priceless string of pearls, with Mr. 
Breckenridge ’s card, on which was written. 


Some Camp Fire Beads 
For 

A Brave Girl 


The Good of the 111 Wind 


207 


“ Have you told your father about Hurricane 
Island yet? ” Jane asked Breck. 

“ Yes, and he merely wanted to know if you 
approved and was mighty disappointed to hear 
most of the stock was bid for already. I guess 
we’ll have to let the Governor in on it for a little. ” 
And Jane smiled a happy assent. 

THE END 








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